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:'-r-i-..->*.l' 


:yM.^       THE 
mMERieTlN   TURF 


WITH 


PERSONAL 


REMJNISeENeBS 


JOHN  H.  Davis 


JOHNA.SEAVERNS 


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^^febrter  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
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Tufts  University 
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JOHN    H.    DAVIS 


THE  AMERICAN  TURF 


BY 

JOHN  H.  DAVIS 


HISTORY   OF   THE   THOROUGHBRED,  TOGETHER   WITH 

PERSONAL   REMINISCENCES   BY    THE   AUTHOR, 

WHO,   IN   TURN,  HAS   BEEN    JOCKEY, 

TRAINER   AND   OWNER 


J- 


PRINTED    BY  THE 

JOHN    POLHEMUS    PRINTING    COMPANY 

NEW    YORK 

'  1907 


COPYRIGHTED   1906 

BY 

JOHN  H.   DAVIS. 


PREFACE 

For  a  decade  more  than  the  three  score  years  and  ten 
allotted  by  a  gracious  Providence  to  man  I  have  been  awaiting 
the  solemn  call  which  comes  to  all  human  kind  to  weigh  in, 
and  then  to  the  great  Steward  make  account  of  the  use  to 
which  I  put  the  opportunities  that  came  to  me. 

In  the  active  competition  of  life,  when  rivalries  were 
keen,  when  ambitions  created  new  fields  and  contests  kept 
alert  both  mind  and  body,  there  was  little  time,  indeed,  to  do 
more  than  merely  store  away  in  unclassified  groups  in 
memory  events  and  incidents  each  one  deserving  of  a  sep- 
arate chapter.  To  write  a  history  of  the  American  turf  had 
long  been  a  cherished  project,  but  each  day  of  a  life  of 
practically  unremitting  and  exacting  labor  interfered  until 
the  westering  sun  of  my  eightieth  year  warns  me  that  I  must 
be  up  and  doing  if  I  would  achieve  my  cherished  ambition 
and  leave  behind  me  something  which  I  trust  will  be  worthy 
tribute  to  the  best  and  the  noblest  sport  that  it  is  given  to 
man  to  enjoy. 

If  in  the  chapters  which  are  to  come  there  should  be 
noted  a  tone  of  enthusiastic  optimism,  let  the  reader  realize 
that  sixty-five  years  of  my  life  were  spent  in  the  activities  of 
the  turf  as  a  jockey,  a  trainer  and  an  owner ;  that  I  have 
seen,  and  in  many  of  them  personally  participated,  practically 
all  of  the  great  contests  which  gave  fame  to  our  thorough- 
breds ;  that  I  have  traveled  on  foot  through  valleys  and  over 
mountains,  when  but  rough  paths  pointed  the  way  between 
places  now  drawn  close  together  by  the  bands  of  great  trunk 
line  railroads,  leading  the  horse  that  was  on  conquest  bent ; 
that  I  spent  weary  weeks  on  journeys  that  now  would  be  but 
the  occupation  of  one  brief  day  of  luxurious  travel ;  that  I 
have  seen  the  upward  and  the  onward  progress  which  has 
marked  the  rise  of  the  thoroughbred  in  America  from  a 
little  meet  in  some  isolated  though  sport-loving  place  to  the 
magnificent  seasons  of  Belmont  Park. 

No  optimism  of  my  earliest  and  most  enthusiastic  days 
could  have  possibly  created  for  me  a  grander  vista  than  that 


which  in  reality  has  come.  No  dream  that  I  might  have  had 
more  than  a  half  century  ago  could  have  conjured  up  the 
multitude  that  on  last  Decoration  Day  I  saw  pass  through  the 
gates  of  the  vastest  and  the  best  appointed  race  course  in  the 
world.  No  fancy  of  the  years  gone  by  could  have  pictured 
the  popularity  of  the  sport  which  has  so  entwined  itself 
about  the  American  thoroughbred.  A  long  cry  truly  from 
famed  old  Governor  Gary's  Lane,  where  our  own  Washing- 
ton of  ever  blessed  memory  presided  and  where  he  raced  his 
own  horse  Magnolia,  to  the  great  courses  which  now  cater 
to  the  scores  of  thousands  who  pay  their  devoirs  to  our  noble 
horse. 

Nor  do  I  believe  that  we  yet  have  reached  our  highest 
in  the  sport.  It  is  better  conserved  to-day,  it  has  a  more 
popular  patronage,  it  is  better  regulated  than  ever  before. 
It  is  difficult  to  maintain  one's  poise  and  listen  to  the  croak- 
ings  of  those  who  allege  they  fear  disaster  and  already  can 
discern  ruin.  Racing  has  had  its  dark  days,  as  what  sport 
or  what  man  or  what  nation  has  not,  and  it  may  continue  so 
to  have  at  uncertain  periods.  But  I  have  been  in  it  a  life- 
time longer  than  it  has  been  the  good  fortune  of  many  to 
enjoy,  and  I  have  seen  its  good  name  assailed,  and  its  patrons 
criticised,  and  attempts  made  to  thwart  its  progress;  but 
ever  and  always  it  has  come  out  of  its  difficulties  better  and 
stronger  than  it  was. 

And  it  did  so  because  of  the  love  of  contest  which  is 
characteristic  of  the  American  people.  The  American  citizen 
is  essentially  a  man  who  glories  in  struggles  for  supremacy; 
whether  it  be  man  or  horse  that  battles,  his  sympathies  are 
at  once  enlisted  and  aroused.  The  red  blood  that  courses  in 
his  veins — the  blood  that  has  built  nations  and  that  has  made 
of  empires  republics — the  blood  that  to-day  dominates  the 
world — is  quickened  by  the  sight  of  contest.  It  glories  in  the 
battles  of  the  thoroughbred,  whose  blood  is  uncontaminated 
and  whose  life  is  conquest.  Tell  me  not  that  the  day  will 
ever  come  when  the  American  citizen  will  look  with  either 
disfavor  or  indifference  on  a  field  of  thoroughbreds.  Tell 
me  not  that  there  is  anywhere  a  scene  so  inspiriting  as  two 
horses  locked  in  struggle,  neither  flinching  and  neither  yield- 
ing, their  veins  in  tension  standing  out  like  whipcords  on 
their  silken  sides,  their  eyes  aflame  with  interest,  their  nostrils 


distended  with  excitement,  giving  up  their  best  effort  out  of 
exclusively  a  natural  desire  to  conquer.  No  prizes  for  them 
if  they  win  ;  no  fortunes  go  with  the  victory  ;  winner  or  loser 
they  go  back  to  the  stalls,  conqueror  and  vanquished  treated 
alike — the  only  sport  in  the  world  where  two  combatants 
struggle  with  all  their  might  without  individual  glory  save 
the  appreciation  in  which  the  public  holds  them. 

But  I  am  digressing  and  discussing  an  impossible  condi- 
tion instead  of  confining  myself  to  a  word  as  to  the  progress 
of  the  sport — a  sport  which  is  at  once  a  great  and  an  important 
industry  and  a  most  popular  recreation.  In  our  early  days 
it  was  but  natural  that  it  should  hold  a  minor  place,  for  the 
molding  of  a  nation  was  work  that  compelled  man's  best 
effort  and  man's  whole  time.  But  no  sooner  had  the  country 
put  on  its  swaddling  clothes  than  the  thoroughbred  was  im- 
ported, and  every  year  since  then  it  has  grown  and  has 
gathered  popularity  until  it  stands  at  the  very  top  of  all  our 
recreations. 

Later  in  this  book  it  will  be  my  privilege  to  discuss  this 
growth  and  the  reasons  therefor  and  also  to  point  out  the 
great  practical  value  of  the  thoroughbred  blood  in  improving 
the  breed  of  horses.  The  Jockey  Club — the  governing  body 
of  the  turf  in  the  East — has  inaugurated  a  Bureau  of  Breed- 
ing, which  will  do  much  to  illustrate  this  to  the  public  of  the 
Empire  State,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  our  National 
Government,  through  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  may 
move  along  a  similar  line. 

Before  concluding  this  introduction  I  desire  to  say  that 
for  the  inspiration  for  this  book  I  am  indebted  to  that  princely 
sportsman,  the  late  Leonard  W.  Jerome.  Sitting  on  the 
veranda  of  the  old  club  house  at  Jerome  Park  one  autumn 
evening  after  the  races,  Mr.  Jerome  and  his  friend,  the  elder 
August  Belmont,  than  whom  no  better  friend  the  turf  ever 
had,  were  speaking  of  the  deplorable  fact  that  the  only 
records  of  the  turf  up  to  that  time  were  in  the  fugitive  form 
of  newspaper  articles.  I  chanced  along  and  Mr.  Jerome 
urged  that  I  take  up  the  work.  To  him,  therefore,  I  am 
indebted  for  the  inspiration  of  this  book,  and  to  him  and  to 
my  best  and  truest  friend,  George  C.  Bennett,  of  Memphis, 
this  work  is  dedicated  by 

THE  AUTHOR. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

Preface 5 

Story  of  Godolphin --•-  n 

Our  Early  Racing i6 

Some  Great  Races 26 

Origin  of  Steeplechasing. - 3S 

The  Strain  of  Blood 4^ 

How  I  Became  a  Turfman 47 

Won  Every  Stake - —  54 

Harry  Gilmour's  Victory 63 

My  Recollections - --  69 

Home  of  the  Racer -  74 

Why  They  Won 80 

How  to  Ride 85 

How  to  Breed... 92 

How  to  Buy  a  Horse —  97 

The  Noted  Jockeys  and  Trainers ---  102 

The  Greatest  Plungers 108 

Waning  of  the  Gray - nS 

Tales  of  the  Turf 121 

Men  I  Have  Met -.126 

Some  Noted  Ringers --  152 

Training  for  a  Race 158 

How  to  Treat  a  Horse _ 163 

The  Track  Records. ._ -  ^75 


HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  TURF. 


CHAPTER  L 


The  Story  of  Godolphin,  the  Arabian. 

While  America  is  not  the  birthplace  of  racing  and  is  not 
the  country  that  first  saw  the  merits  of  the  thoroughbred 
horse,  she  now  has  the  proud  distinction  of  having  been  the 
country  that  encouraged  the  sport  and  brought  it  up  to  its 
present  high  standing. 

From  the  insignificant  beginning,  when  the  Dutch 
traders  and  burghers  first  raced  their  Flemish  ponies  about 
New  Amsterdam,  racing  has  grown  to  almost  colossal  pro- 
portions. The  whole  country  is  honeycombed  with  race 
tracks  of  the  very  grandest  character,  and  there  is  not  a 
state  in  the  Union  but  has  some  kind  of  a  course.  If  running 
is  not  promoted,  the  trotting  interests  are  appreciated. 

Probably  the  first  racing  ever  held  was  on  the  broad 
deserts  of  Arabia,  where  the  turbaned  disciple  of  Mahomet 
scampered  about  on  his  steed  and  challenged  his  neighbors 
to  a  contest  of  speed.  If  there  were  any  regular  races,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  record  of  them,  but  the  fame  of  the  Arabian 
steed  was  known  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era. 

It  remained  for  France  and  England  to  introduce  racing 
and  the  features  that  have  grown  about  it.  Of  course,  there 
were  races  during  the  time  the  Romans  were  ruled  by  the 
Ccesars  and  even  previous  to  that,  but  there  was  nothing  of 
an  organized  nature  and  horses  were  not  trained  especially 
for  the  purpose.  France  seems  to  have  had  the  first  blooded 
horse  of  which  there  is  any  record.  The  Byerly  Turk  was 
taken  there  from  Turkey  in  1620,  but  it  was  long  years  after 
that  before  there  was  what  could  be  termed  racing. 

There  were  some  men  in  England  who  made  pretensions 
to  scientific  breeding,  yet  they  knew  but  little  compared 
with  what  is  known  now.  Several  Arabian  horses  were  im- 
ported and  they    begat  a  sterling   race   when   bred  to  the 


12 


gentle  mares  of  the  British  isles.  Among  the  earliest  of 
these  importations  was  a  celebrated  stallion  known  as  Bar- 
ley's Arabian,  whose  blood  is  yet  to  be  found  in  the  horses  of 
this  country  and  England  and  they  are  winning  races  day 
after  day. 

But  the  grandest  of  these  Arabians,  in  my  opinion,  was 
Godolphin  Arabian,  and,  in  this  connection,  a  pretty  little 
story  regarding  the  discovery  of  this  wonderful  animal 
occurs  to  me.  I  heard  it  when  a  boy.  The  pasha  of  Arabia 
desired  to  bestow  a  compliment  on  the  king  of  France  and 
he  sent  him  a  number  of  beautiful  Arabian  kings  and  queens 
of  the  desert.  Among  them  was  one  of  especial  symmetry, 
but  the  French  had  lately  been  involved  in  a  war  and  their 
thoughts  were  far  from  racing  and  such  matters.  Their 
entire  attention  was  fixed  on  how  to  recover  from  the  ravages 
of  the  war.  In  consequence,  the  Arabian  horses  were  neg- 
lected. Finally  the  king  ordered  his  grooms  to  sell  the 
horses  for  anything  they  would  bring. 

The  animals  fell  into  the  hands  of  traders  and  common 
people,  who  gave  them  no  care,  and  gradually  they  declined 
until  the  horse  in  question  drifted  into  the  hands  of  a  man 
who  had  a  cart  and  hauled  goods  about  the  city  of  Paris. 
With  every  one  of  these  horses  sent  to  the  king  the  pasha 
sent  the  groom  that  had  had  him  in  charge  since  he  was 
foaled,  and  there  was  one  poor  fellow  who  had  cared  for  this 
steed.  He  followed  the  carter  about  day  after  day,  saw  his 
beloved  horse  become  blind,  shaggy  and  ill  looking,  and  his 
heart  was  touched  to  the  very  core. 

But  one  day  there  came  a  change.  A  gentle  Quaker 
was  passing  through  the  streets  with  his  daughter  and  they 
saw  the  carter  beating  the  Arabian  horse  mercilessly.  The 
girl's  sympathetic  heart  was  touched,  and  she  persuaded  her 
father  to  purchase  the  poor  animal  and  get  it  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  cruel  driver.  The  Quaker  paid  over  the  money  and 
stood  wondering  what  he  was  going  to  do  with  the  horse. 

At  this  juncture  the  Arabian  groom  approached  and  in 
a  respectful  manner  told  the  story  of  the  horse.  He  told  of 
his  love  for  the  exile  from  the  deserts  of  the  spice-laden 
Araby  the  Happy  and  pleaded  to  be  engaged  to  care  for 
him.  The  daughter  again  interfered,  and,  woman  like,  she 
had  her  way.     Soon  the  groom  and  the  horse  were  comfort- 


13 

ably  installed  in  the  stable  ol  the  Quaker,  With  kind  treat- 
ment and  plenty  to  eat  the  horse  began  to  round  out  and 
once  more  the  graceful  lines  of  symmetry  were  perceptible. 
Time  passed  and  the  cast-off  Arabian  horse  became  the 
most  beautiful  creature  in  that  part  of  the  city. 

The  Quaker's  daughter  went  from  time  to  time  to  see 
the  horse  and  listen  to  the  praises  of  the  groom.  Finally 
she  became  so  impressed  with  the  animal  that  she  used  him 
as  her  saddle  horse.  But  all  this  time  the  spark  of  fire  in 
the  blood  of  the  horse  was  being  slowly  revived,  for  all  the 
cruel  treatment  he  had  received  had  not  quite  extinguished 
it.  One  day  he  was  feeling  particularly  frisky  and  he  threw 
his  fair  rider  and  badly  injured  her.  This  so  enraged  the 
Quaker  that  he  had  the  groom  thrown  into  prison. 

The  mother  of  Lord  Godolphin,  a  celebrated  English 
noble,  was  visiting  in  Paris,  and,  being  a  very  charitable 
woman,  she  went  with  a  number  of  other  ladies  to  visit  the 
prison.  There  she  saw  the  poor  Arab  and  listened  pityingly 
to  his  story.  Afterward  she  made  an  investigation  and  found 
that  he  had  told  her  the  exact  truth.  She  saw  the  man  again 
and  he  persuaded  her  to  buy  the  horse  from  the  Quaker. 
Then  she  sent  both  the  horse  and  the  groom  to  her  son  in 
England. 

The  groom  knew  so  much  about  horses  that  he  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  stables  of  his  new  master,  and,  while 
acting  in  this  capacity,  occurred  the  incident  that  caused 
his  temporary  downfall.  On  the  stock  farm  was  Roxanna, 
by  the  Ball  Galloway,  a  great  mare  of  the  day,  and  the  lord 
desired  to  breed  her  to  Hobgoblin,  a  grand  stallion  he  owned; 
but  the  mare  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  English 
stallion  and  seemed  to  care  for  no  horse  save  the  despised 
blind  Arab.  The  groom  thought  there  was  no  horse  like 
the  one  from  his  own  deserts  and  he  permitted  the  mare  to 
go  into  the  embrace  of  the  Arabian. 

When  Lord  Godolphin  learned  of  what  had  been  done 
he  was  so  enraged  that  he  banished  both  the  horse  and  the 
groom  to  a  barren  estate  in  Scotland.  There  the  Arab  built 
a  small  stone  hut  to  shelter  himself  and  the  horse.  For  two 
years  they  lived  there,  and  the  Arab  worked  and  procured 
food  for  both  of  them. 

In  course  of  time  the  mare  delivered  a  foal.      It  was  a 


14 

delicate  little  creature,  but  every  day  he  grew  more  and 
more  beautiful.  There  were  no  such  lithe  and  sinewy  limbs 
on  any  of  the  yearlings  of  the  stable.  There  was  no  such 
gracefulness  in  every  movement,  and  the  attention  of  every- 
body was  directed  toward  the  offspring  of  the  despised 
Arabian  sire.  At  length  he  was  trained  and  put  into  a  race. 
His  owner  thought  he  was  a  beautiful  creature,  but  he  had 
no  great  hopes  for  him.  But  when  he  ran  away  from  every 
thing  in  the  race  and  won  from  the  best  stock  of  old  England 
he  became  deeply  interested.  Race  after  race  was  won,  and 
there  soon  came  a  time  when  this  colt  was  considered  the 
mightiest  race  horse  that  ever  looked  through  a  bridle.  His 
name  was  Lath  and  his  fame  was  widespread.  Inquiries  as 
to  his  breeding  began  to  be  made. 

Then,  for  the  first  time,  it  occurred  to  Lord  Godolphin 
that  he  had  on  his  barren  estate  in  Scotland  probably  the 
greatest  sire  ever  known.  He  sent  a  special  ambulance  by 
a  long  and  tortuous  route  into  the  Highlands,  where  the  faith- 
ful groom  and  his  charge  were  quartered,  and  they  returned  to 
the  castle  of  the  Godolphins  in  almost  regal  splendor.  After 
that  Godolphin  the  Arabian  grew  and  increased  in  fame 
until  a  horse  that  did  not  have  a  strain  of  his  blood  in  him 
was  not  considered  a  race  horse  at  all.  He  so  far  over- 
shadowed the  other  Arabians  of  his  time  that  they  became 
considered  but  of  mediocre  quality. 

The  blood  of  this  mighty  horse  courses  through  the 
veins  of  all  the  best  stock  of  America  to-day  and  is  the  purest 
of  the  line  that  leads  to  the  purple.  One  might  go  over  the 
pedigrees  of  all  the  horses  that  are  gaining  distinction  on  the 
turf  to-day  and  find  that  they  finally  lead  back  to  the  blind 
steed  of  the  desert.  He  combined  speed,  endurance  and 
gentleness  in  his  makeup,  all  the  essential  points  in  a  first- 
class  thoroughbred. 

The  sportsmen  of  America  were  quick  to  see  that  this 
was  a  great  horse,  and  it  was  not  long  until  several  of  his 
sons  and  daughters  found  their  way  across  the  ocean  and 
were  quartered  in  the  stables  of  the  planters  of  the  New 
World.  Here  they  thrived  and  produced  a  race  that  inherited 
all  the  best  traits  of  the  illustrious  sire. 

The  Byerly  Turk  was  taken  from  France  to  England 
in  about  1688  and  was  the  founder  of  the  famous  Herod  line. 


15 

The  horse  became  the  property  of  Sir  George  Byerly  and 
was  his  charger  during  the  battle  of  the  Boyne.  When  the 
war  was  over  Sir  George  took  him  back  to  England  and 
placed  him  at  the  head  of  his  breeding  establishment.  This 
is  the  line  carefully  traced :  The  Byerly  Turk  sired  Jig,  the 
latter  Tartar,  and  then  followed  Partner,  who  sired  Herod. 

Selim  was  the  sire  of  the  Matchem  line  and  was  also 
owned  in  England.  These  three  lines  are  the  most  famous 
the  world  has  ever  known,  and  all  the  great  horses  in  Europe 
and  America  contain  these  crosses.  Diomed,  the  winner  of 
the  first  English  Derby  in  1780,  had  all  three  of  the  strains. 
Sir  Archie  (the  American  Godolphin),  whom  I  regard  as 
one  of  the  greatest  horses  ever  bred  in  America,  was  a  son 
of  Diomed.  This  horse  sired  Florizel;  Florizel  is  the  sire  of 
the  dam  of  Boston,  and  Boston  sired  Lexington,  which  shows 
in  a  few  words  the  excellence  of  his  blood. 

However,  this  is  a  slight  deviation.  Old  England,  the 
mother  of  racing,  had  its  grand  race  courses,  its  fine  breed- 
ing establishments  and  its  owners  whose  wealth  justified 
them  in  indulging  in  the  sport.  They  were  true  sportsmen, 
and  there  is  nothing  they  would  not  have  done  to  have  im- 
proved upon  the  Arabian  blood,  had  they  but  known  how 
to  have  gone  about  it.     But  they  soon  had  rivals  in  America. 

The  men  of  the  New  World  began  to  study  the  science 
of  breeding.  They  mated  the  Arabian  stock  to  mares  judi- 
ciously and  made  up  for  the  defects  of  the  latter  in  the 
virtues  of  the  former.  The  result  was  that  the  class  of  the 
stock  gradually  increased  and  became  better  and  better. 
Year  after  year  saw  an  improvement  in  the  American  horses. 
The  best  men  in  the  country  became  identified  with  breeding 
and  they  gave  it  the  most  careful  attention. 

But  the  Americans  were  not  content  with  taking  the 
best  of  the  English  sires.  They  invaded  France  and  Austria, 
and  finally  imported  a  few  Arabs  themselves.  In  every 
instance  they  succeeded  by  their  judicious  management. 
Racing  in  the  new  world  grew  and  flourished.  Tracks  were 
built  at  first  like  those  in  the  old  country,  but  then  the 
Americans  devised  a  plan  by  which  the  race  at  all  its  stages 
might  be  witnessed  by  the  people  and  by  which  the  horses 
would  never  be  out  of  the  sight  of  the  man  who  had  come 
to  see  the  race.  They  built  the  first  circular  tracks  and  con- 
tinued  to  improve  upon  them. 


CHAPTER  IL 
Our  Early  Racing;. 

From  the  very  arrival  of  the  first  thorougbred  in  this 
country  racing  became  popular.  It  was  the  chief  recreation 
of  the  leisure  class,  and,  though  that  class  was  exceedingly 
small  in  number,  it  was  thoroughly  enthusiastic,  and,  perhaps 
naturally,  because  of  its  smallness,  contests  took  on  the  char- 
acter of  quasi-sectional  rivalries.  It  was  the  North  against 
the  South,  or  Virginia  against  Maryland,  or  New  York  against 
South  Carolina,  and  so  on,  for,  as  I  have  said,  men  who  had 
the  wealth  and  the  leisure  to  indulge  in  this  most  fascinat- 
ing of  sports  were  few  and  far  between  in  those  days  when 
our  country  was  in  that  transition  stage  from  a  colony  to  a 
nation. 

Up  until  within  approximately  a  dozen  years  of  the 
War  of  Independence  there  was  no  regularly  constituted 
race  track  worthy  even  of  those  days.  In  1763,  for  example, 
we  find  the  celebrated  horse  Selim  meeting  and  beating  Dr. 
Hamilton's  imported  horse  Dove  and  others  at  four  miles, 
two  miles  out  on  the  main  road  between  Annapolis  and  Bal- 
timore and  return.  Maryland  always  was  a  splendid  racing 
colony,  and  letters  in  private  collections  tell  of  the  great 
crowds  that  had  gathered  for  the  contest,  traveling  by  horse- 
back in  some  instances  a  week's  journey  to  be  present  at  the 
race. 

In  1764  Selim  again  won  a  purse  at  Philadelphia,  and 
about  a  year  later  beat  True  Britton  over  a  regularly  organ- 
ized course  at  four  miles  and  repeat  in  a  match.  In  the 
October  of  1767  he  won  a  purse  of  100  guineas  at  the  same 
place,  distancing  three  others.  His  superiority  was  so  un- 
challenged that  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  find  him 
barred.  It  was  not  until  1768  that  he  met  his  first  defeat, 
his  conqueror  being  the  imported  horse  Figure. 

In  this  connection  it  is  pertinent  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  worthy,  time-honored  course  at  Charleston,  S.  C, 
was  the  oldest  well-organized  course  in  the  United  States. 
It  was  not  inaugurated  until  February  15,  1792,  or  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  after  some  had  their  existence  in  Penn- 


17 

sylvania.  Let  no  reader  misunderstand  me  ;  I  pay  reverent 
homag-e  to  the  gentlemen  sportsmen  of  the  Palmetto  State, 
but  inexorable  history  gives  the  laurel  for  the  establish- 
ment of  organized  courses  in  this  country  to  the  State  of  the 
gentle  Quaker.  More's  the  pity  that  in  the  years  which 
followed  the  great  commonwealth  of  William  Penn  per- 
mitted itself  to  be  outstripped  in  the  race  for  eminence  in 
this  noblest  of  all  our  sports. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  give  a  list  of  all  the  horses, 
especially  the  Arabians,  imported  into  the  United  States 
before  the  Revolution.  Accidentally  omitted  is  Lindsey's 
Arabian,  the  only  and  first  Arabian,  ever  imported  into 
America  up  to  or  prior  to  the  War  of  Independence.  He 
was  a  gray,  and  commonly  called  "  Lindsey's  Arabian."  He 
was  landed  in  Connecticut  in  1766,  and  was  then  four  years 
old.  His  stock  proved  to  be  valuable,  and  many  of  his  get 
were  employed  as  cavalry  horses  in  the  army  of  the  United 
States. 

In  the  stud  he  was  successful.  He  was  the  sire  of  Gen- 
eral George  Washington's  Magnolia,  Mr.  Edelin's  Tullp,Dr. 
Marshall's  Hyder  Ally,  as  well  as  a  black  horse  belonging 
to  Notly  Young,  and  a  gray  which  later  found  his  way  to  Win- 
chester, Virginia.  In  connection  herewith,  I  recount  a  list 
of  Arabians  and  Barbs  which  have  been  brought  into  the 
United  States  since  the  Revolution. 

A  horse  and  mare  sent  as  a  present  by  the^Bey  of  Tunis 
through  his  Ambassador,  Meli  Melle,  to  Thomas  Jefferson, 
then  President  of  the  United  States  ;  pedigree  unknown. 

Arab  Barb,  a  black,  imported  by  Colonel  Lear.  He  was 
large  and  strong,  well  proportioned,  but  not  handsome.  He 
was  said  to  be  sire  of  the  dam  of  Fairfax. 

Bagdad,  purchased  by  George  Barkly,  Esq.,  of  New 
York,  from  Hassana  De  Gris,  Minister  to  England  from 
Tripoli,  who  imported  him  into  England  as  a  horse  of 
pure  Arabian  blood.  He  was  afterwards  purchased  by  a 
company  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  1823. 

Ballasteros,  an  Arabain,  dark  brown,  who  had  been  the 
property  of  Ferdinand,  King  of  Spain.  When  the  French 
army  got  possession  of  Madrid  the  stud  belonging  to  the 
King  of  Spain  was  taken  by  the  Spanish  nobles,  carried  to 
Cadiz,  and  there  sold.   There  Ballasteros  became  the  property 


of  R.  S.  Hackley,  our  consul  at  that  place,  who  afterwards 
disposed  of  him  to  Captain  Singleton,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
sold  him  to  Thomas  Guy,  of  Richmond  (Broad  Rock  Co.), 
Va.,  in  1816. 

Busora,  an  Arabian,  imported  in  1820  by  the  Messrs. 
Ogden,  of  New  York, 

The  Jones,  Arabian,  foaled  in  1820,  a  dapple  gray,  black 
legs,  mane  and  tail,  15  hands  high.  He  was  purchased  by 
Major  Smith,  an  American  consul  at  Tunis,  who  sold  him  to 
Commodore  Jones,  and  by  him  was  imported  into  this 
country  in  1824.  This  horse  ran  at  Gibraltar  and  performed 
well. 

Selim,  an  Arabian  gray,  presented  by  the  Murad  Bey 
to  General  Sir  R.  Abercrombie.  After  the  General's  death 
he  became  the  property  of  Commodore  Barron,  who  after- 
wards sold  him  to  go  to  Kentucky. 

Winter's  Arabian  was  captured  as  a  yearling  during 
the  war  of  1814  by  the  privateer  Grampass,  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  He  was  on  board  the  brig  Doris,  one  of  His 
Majesty's  transports,  on  her  passage  from  Senegal  to  Ports- 
mouth, England,  and  was  intended  as  a  present  to  the  then 
Prince  Regent,  afterwards  George  the  Fourth.  The  horse 
was  sold,  and  purchased  by  E.  J.  Winter,  member  of  Con- 
gress from  New  York.  He  was  14  hands  i  inch  high. 
This  horse  crossed  well  with  most  of  the  Kentucky  mares  in 
his  time. 

John  M.  Clay's  Rally,  by  imported  Trustee.  The  dam 
of  that  good  horse,  Gerome  Edger,  was  out  of  a  Winter's 
Arab  mare.  She  was  also  dam  of  Mat  Davis  and  other  good 
horses.  Quite  a  number  of  his  get  were  trained  and  per- 
formed well. 

These  are  the  principal  Arabs  and  Barbs  that  came  to 
this  country  prior  to  the  date  of  the  Independence  and 
long  subsequent  to  the  same  period.  An  important  con- 
signment came  in  the  more  recent  years  through  the  enter- 
prise of  that  public-spirited  gentleman,  Mr.  A.  K.  Richards, 
of  Georgetown,  Scott  Co.,  Kentucky.  Though  well  selected, 
they  most  signally  failed  to  cross  well  with  our  best  Ameri- 
can brood  mares.  The  best  of  their  get  was  Transylvania, 
out  of  the  famous  mare  Paytonia,  by  Glencoe,  who  became 
famous  when  she  beat   the  great  Northern  ideal.  Fashion, 


19 

four-mile  heats,  in  a  match  for  $20,000  a  side,  over  the  Union 
Course,  Long-  Island,  New  York.  While  on  this  subject  it 
may  prove  interesting  to  modern  readers  of  turf  matters  of 
the  past  that  I  should  recur  to  the  origin  of  the  conflicts  of 
the  turf  between  the  North  and  South,  which  were  more 
protracted  than  the  Trojan  War,  though  they  were  con- 
ducted in  a  manner  highly  honorable  to  all  parties  emulous 
not  only  to  excel  on  the  turf,  but  in  the  promotion  of  that 
good  feeling  best  calculated  to  cement  more  strongly  the 
bonds  of  our  Union,  as  follows  : 

During  the  autumn  campaign  of  1823  Sir  Charles,  then 
six  years  old,  having  beaten  all  competitors  in  several  races, 
a  challenge  was  injudiciously  made  in  the  public  press  to  run 
him  against  Eclipse,  four-mile  heats,  the  following  May,  on 
the  Union  Course,  Long  Island,  or  any  Southern  course^ 
four-mile  heats,  for  $5,000  or  $10,000  a  side,  as  might  be  pre- 
ferred by  Eclipse. 

Eclipse  was  eight  years  old  and  had  run  but  one  race  that 
season.  The  challenge  was  accepted  and  the  larger  sum 
named  as  most  consonant  with  the  fame  of  the  two  champions. 
Sir  Charles  proving  amiss,  half  forfeit  was  paid,  though  in  his 
unpromising  situation  a  match  on  the  spot  was  made  to  run 
them  forthwith  a  dash  of  four  miles  for  $15,000  a  side.  At 
the  end  of  two  miles  Sir  Charles  broke  down  and  Eclipse 
won  almost  without  a  contest. 

Confidence  now  to  the  fullest  extent  being  reposed  in 
him,  a  match  was  made  by  John  Stevens,  of  New  York,  with 
Col.  Wm.  R.  Johnson,  of  Virginia,  to  run  Eclipse  four-mile 
heats  the  following  May  on  the  same  Union  Course  against 
any  competitor  to  be  produced  at  the  starting  post  for 
$20,000  a  side,  the  rules  of  the  Union  Course  to  govern, 
which,  from  the  relative  weights,  were  known  to  be  more 
unfavorable  to  young  horses  over  the  Northern  tracks  than 
the  regular  tracks  of  the  South. 

All  others  had  then  trained  off  in  Virginia,  partly  from 
the  severe  mode  of  running  three-year-olds,  but  in  some 
measure  as  characteristic  of  her  fashionable  stock,  at  which 
time  all  horses  dated  their  age  from  the  first  of  May. 

Thus,  a  horse  foaled  any  time  in  the  year  18 19  would  be 
considered  four  years  old  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1823. 

Eclipse  was  foaled  at  Dosoris,  Queens  County,  Long 


Island,  New  York,  on  the  25th  of  May,  18 14,  was  reared  by 
General  Nathaniel  Coles,  the  breeder,  in  whose  possession 
he  remained  until  the  15th  day  of  March,  1819,  when  he 
changed  hands  and  became  the  property  of  Mr.  Van  Ranst. 
He  was  sired  by  Durock;  his  dam  was  Miller's  Damsal, 
by  imported  Messenger,  grandam  the  English  Pot-8-os 
Mare,  imported  when  three  years  old  in  1795  by  William 
Constable,  Esq.,  of  New  York.  Pot-8-os  was  sired  by  English 
Eclipse,  his  great-grandam  by  Jim  Crack,  he  by  Crip- 
ple, and  Cripple  by  Godolphin  Arabian.  This  horse  was  as 
much  of  a  success  when  turned  to  the  stud  as  a  brood  horse 
as  he  was  famous  as  a  performer,  when  on  the  turf,  meeting 
and  defeating  all  the  best  horses  at  all  distances  of  his  day. 

(Borrowed  of  Volume  I,  American  Turf  Register  and 
Sporting  Magazine.) 

A  portrait  accompanying  this  number  of  the  celebrated 
racer  and  idol  of  the  North,  by  name  American  Eclipse,  was 
engraved  by  Du  Rand  and  Wright,  taken  from  the  original 
painting,  the  property  of  Henry  Hall,  Esq.,  of  New  York, 
and  was  acknowledged  by  all  good  judges  to  be  an  excellent 
likeness.  This  horse  was  then  15  years  old,  a  chestnut  with 
a  star  and  near  hind  foot  white,  was  15  hands  i  inch  high,  and 
possessed  a  large  share  of  bone  and  muscle. 

At  the  death  of  Sir  Charles,  Eclipse  was  purchased  by 
some  Southern  gentlemen,  to  take  his  place,  who  had  up  to 
this  time  stood  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  successful  stal- 
lions in  the  South,  and  in  this  capacity  Eclipse  continued 
to  add  to  his  fame. 

At  first  in  this  country  there  were  just  the  straight 
courses  of  England,  and  many  a  merry  race  was  had  in 
Governor  Gary's  Lane.  It  is  said  that  General  Washington 
once  presided  as  judge  at  a  race  there,  and  that  his  decision 
was  satisfactory  to  everybody.  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  father 
of  Democracy,  owned  a  race  horse  in  those  days.  While 
there  is  no  recorded  instance  of  the  horse  having  won  any 
great  races,  he  must  have  been  victorious  in  some  of  them, 
for  he  sold  for  a  big  price.  There  were  many  great  races  of 
the  olden  times,  and  thousands  of  dollars  were  wagered  and 
won  and  lost  on  the  results,  for  the  pioneers  were  sports- 
men of  the  most  noble  and  liberal  type.      If  they  fancied 


the  chances  of  one  horse,  they  were  willing  to  stake  every- 
thing they  possessed  on  him. 

This  is  instanced  in  the  story  of  one  of  the  earliest  of 
these  contests.  It  occurred  away  back  at  a  time  when  no 
record  was  kept  of  the  matter  save  the  barest  details.  In 
Cobb  County,  N.  C,  there  lived  a  very  rich  family,  and  they 
had  the  best  horse  there  was  in  the  surrounding  country. 
He  was  truly  a  handsome  animal  and  had  all  sorts  of  speed, 
but  he  had  not  been  trained.  It  was  the  proud  boast  that 
this  animal  could  defeat  any  horse  in  the  State,  although  the 
family  would  never  for  an  instant  have  considered  themselves 
turfmen.  They  boasted  of  his  prowess  on  every  occasion, 
and  often  they  went  to  the  grocery  store  kept  by  a  canny  Scot 
and  spoke  of  what  this  horse  could  do  in  the  way  of  running. 
Now,  it  happened  that  this  Scot  had  just  moved  into  the 
country  and  was  not  making  much  of  an  effort  to  get  any 
trade.  He  did  not  seem  to  care  whether  business  came  to 
him  or  not.  He  was  ready  to  take  a  drink,  close  up  his 
business  and  have  a  good  time,  and  everybody  soon  got  to 
like  him.  He  had  a  horse.  His  name  was  Trickem  and  he 
was  by  Janus,  the  own  son  of  Godolphin  the  Arabian.  But 
he  did  not  let  anybody  know  of  the  pedigree  of  his  horse. 
He  simply  tried  to  "  make  himself  a  good  fellow." 

One  day  a  scion  of  the  rich  family  called  at  the  store, 
somewhat  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and  resumed  his 
boastings. 

"  I  think  my  horse  could  beat  him  if  it  came  to  a  race," 
said  the  storekeeper. 

"  Have  you  any  money  to  bet  on  it?"  asked  the  South- 
erner. 

"  I  have  some  money,"  replied  the  Scotchman,  "  but 
there  is  hardly  enough,  and  I  will  put  up  my  store  and  bet 
it. 

"Agreed,"  said  the  lad,  and  he  went  home  and  told  his 
father,  mother,  sisters  and  brothers,  who  said  he  had  acted 
properly  under  the  circumstances.  It  was  as  much  the 
Southern  pride  as  anything,  but,  at  the  same  time,  they  be- 
lieved they  had  the  race  as  good  as  won. 

On  the  day  following  the  Scotchman  showed  he  was  in 
earnest  by  having  his  stock  appraised  and  put  up  in 
boxes  ready  for  moving  in  case  he  lost.     Then  he  sent  for 


the  father  of  the  family  and  asked  him  if  the  race  was  to  be  a 
bona  fide  thing.  The  latter  promptly  informed  him  with 
great  dignity  that  he  was  responsible  for  anything  his  son 
had  said.  So  the  money  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  stake- 
holder and  the  time  for  the  race  arrived.  The  villagers  al- 
most to  a  man  were  wagering  their  money  on  the  horse  of 
the  rich  family,  as  they  had  seen  him  work  and  they 
thought  he  was  the  superior  of  any  horse  that  ever  trod  a 
track. 

A  strange  coincidence  was  that  there  immediately  came 
an  influx  of  strangers  into  the  town,  and  they  were  all 
Scotchmen,  and  were  introduced  as  relatives  of  the  owner 
of  Trickem.  The  time  for  the  race  came,  and  the  horses 
went  to  the  post.  They  got  off  to  a  good  start,  and  Trickem 
at  once  took  the  lead  and  kept  it  all  the  way,  never  faltering 
for  an  instant,  winning  by  more  than  a  hundred  yards. 
Now,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  neighbors  wagered  ne- 
groes, farms,  cotton  and  all  they  possessed  on  the  result,  some 
idea  of  the  state  of  affairs  that  prevailed  at  this  time  may  be 
gained. 

The  Scotchman  had  his  goods  already  packed,  and  he 
lost  no  time  in  getting  out  of  the  country.  He  was  never 
heard  of  afterward.  Trickem  may  not  have  been  a  ringer 
and  brought  there  for  the  sole  purpose  of  winning  this  money, 
but  the  circumstances  were  against  him.  However,  he  was 
never  heard  of  again,  as  far  as  there  is  any  record.  The  ad- 
vent of  the  Scotchman  made  that  town  poor  for  years  and 
years. 

An  important  race  of  these  days  was  that  between  Char- 
lotte Temple,  Sussex,  Rat  Catcher  and  Red  Rover.  It  was 
a  post  sweepstakes  and  took  place  over  the  Virginia  course. 
Charlotte  Temple  was  owned  by  Colonel  William  R.  John- 
son and  she  won  the  race  in  two  straight  heats.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  thousands  of  dollars  were  bet  on  this  race 
its  importance  is  understood.  Charlotte  Temple  was  a  full 
sister  to  the  famous  Gohanna. 

There  was  a  great  race  between  Selim,  Old  England, 
Granby  and  Northumberland  at  Philadelphia  in  1767. 
At  the  start  Selim,  the  mighty,  sped  to  the  front  and  held 
the  lead  all  the  way  around.  The  others  could  never  come 
within  striking  distance  of  him.     Old  England  was  the  near- 


23 

est  contender,  and  he  was  a  good  horse,  too,  full  of  fire,  speed 
and  endurance.  In  the  second  heat  Old  England  clung  close 
to  the  flanks  of  the  bay  Selim  and  held  there  until  the  last 
quarter  was  reached.  Then  he  flew  the  course  and  Selim 
came  in  and  won  as  he  pleased.  A  great  deal  of  money 
changed  hands  on  this  race. 

But  there  was  scarcely  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  early 
days  that  there  was  not  a  contest  of  some  kind  between  the 
North  and  South,  and  the  natives  of  both  sections  backed 
their  favorites  with  all  they  had.  One  of  the  prime  factors 
in  promoting  these  matches  was  Colonel  William  R.  John- 
son. He  made  probably  more  matches  than  any  man  alive 
and  wagered  more  money  on  the  results  than  the  heaviest 
plungers  of  to-day  are  wont  to  do.  In  the  whole  history  of 
the  American  turf  there  is  probably  no  man  who  deserves 
more  credit  for  what  he  has  done  in  the  way  of  promoting 
racing  than  Colonel  William  R.  Johnson.  But  I  have  no 
desire  at  this  time  to  eulogize  this  gentleman.  In  another 
part  of  this  work  I  will  speak  of  him  at  length  and  will  give 
my  impressions  of  him. 

It  was  he  who  brought  about  the  great  race  between 
Boston  and  Fashion,  in  which  the  latter  won,  and  there  is  no 
notable  match  of  this  period  in  which  he  did  not  have  a 
hand.  He  owned  some  of  the  grandest  horses  that  ever 
set  foot  on  a  track,  and  as  long  as  there  is  racing  in  the  world 
the  name  of  William  R.  Johnson  will  be  remembered  and 
respected. 

In  those  days  the  distances  were  always  long,  and  a  horse 
had  to  have  some  bottom  and  staying  qualities  to  win.  Ariel 
was  one  of  the  greatest  mares  of  her  time.  One  of  her  noted 
races  was  run  against  the  fleet-footed  Flirtilla  in  October, 
1830.  It  was  over  the  Union  course  on  Long  Island  for  a 
purse  of  $20,000,  three-mile  heats.  Both  had  great  speed, 
and  they  had  admirers  from  one  ocean  to  the  other.  During 
the  first  mile  of  the  first  heat  Flirtilla  was  kept  far  behind, 
according  to  instructions,  although  she  fought  for  her  head, 
but  on  the  second  mile  she  was  turned  loose  and  permitted 
to  do  what  she  could.  She  shot  ahead,  maintaining  the  lead 
until  the  last  quarter  was  reached.  Then  Ariel  stepped  in 
and  won. 

The  trainer  of  Flirtilla  saw  that  the  chance  of  the  mare  lay 


24 

in  her  getting  away  well,  and  he  told  the  jockey  to  take  her 
to  the  iront  at  once.  The  boy  did  so,  and  she  maintained 
the  lead  all  the  way  around,  wearing  out  her  agile  adversary. 
The  third  heat  was  a  repetition  of  the  preceding  one.  Flir- 
tilla  had  tired  Ariel,  and  she  stepped  out  and  won  all  the 
way  without  the  slightest  difficulty.  In  the  last  heat  Flir- 
tilla  was  about  eighty  yards  to  the  good,  and  she  did  the  work 
in  5:54. 

Another  remarkable  race  was  that  of  Leviathan  against 
Brimmer.  The  former  carried  180  pounds  and  the  latter  90 
pounds.  It  was  for  a  distance  of  five  miles,  and  was  run  at 
Tappahannock,  Virginia,  in  1701.  The  lightly-weighted 
Brimmer,  who  was,  by  the  way,  fleet  of  foot  and  full  of  all 
kinds  of  speed  and  endurance,  took  the  lead  at  the  fall  of  the 
flag  and  held  it  all  the  way  around  to  the  last  quarter.  Then 
the  bulky  rider  of  Leviathan  called  on  the  son  of  The  Flag 
of  Truce  and  he  responded  nobly.  He  quickly  closed  the 
gap  there  was  between  them  and  forged  to  the  front  under 
the  wire  by  a  head.  The  Brimmer  beaten  on  this  occasion 
was  not  Colonel  Goode's  Brimmer,  but  another  of  the  same 
name.  Still  he  was  a  fast  horse  and  deserves  credit  for  the 
game  race  he  ran,  even  though  he  had  far  the  better  of  the 
impost. 

On  October  30,  1830,  there  was  a  celebrated  race  run  at 
the  Rocky  Mount  track  in  Virginia  between  Red  Gauntlet, 
a  famed  horse,  and  Aratus.  It  was  a  famous  race  and  was 
for  $30,000  a  side,  two-mile  heats.  The  owners  of  the  two 
horses  were  mortal  enemies,  and  each  hoped  the  other  would 
lose  all  his  earthly  possessions.  They  put  up  their  money  as 
long  as  they  had  anything  to  put  up.  Red  Gauntlet  took 
the  lead  at  the  start  and  held  it  all  the  way  around  to  the  last 
quarter,  when  Aratus  challenged  him.  Then  began  the  tug 
of  war,  and  each  boy  whipped  his  horse  until  the  blood 
floAved  in  a  crimson  stream  down  his  sides.  The  sharp  spurs 
worn  in  those  days  were  dug  deeply  into  the  flesh,  and  they 
spared  nothing  to  win.  But,  in  spite  of  all  the  game  Aratus 
could  do,  Red  Gauntlet  forged  to  the  front  when  they  were 
head  and  head  and  won  by  a  short  neck. 

His  owner  was  not  discouraged  and  was  just  as  game  as 
when  he  had  first  had  the  blanket  taken  off  his  horse.  He 
wagered  at  this  juncture  what  he  could  borrow  from  his 


25 

friends.  As  before,  Red  Gauntlet  got  the  better  of  the  start, 
and  they  sped  over  the  course  with  Aratus  close  behind. 
The  boy  had  his  instructions  to  let  Red  Gauntlet  make  the 
running  to  the  last  half  and  then  to  set  him  such  a  merry 
clip  that  he  could  not  hold  on.  On  and  on  they  went,  and 
when  they  arrived  at  the  last  half  the  rider  of  the  sturdy 
Aratus  plied  whip  and  spur,  but  work  hard  as  he  could  he 
was  unable  to  get  a  bit  more  speed  out  of  the  animal.  Ara- 
tus had  done  his  best  and  was  near  the  jumping  off  spot.  On 
the  other  hand,  Red  Gauntlet  was  getting  his  second  wind, 
as  the  saying  is.  His  rider  realized  that  the  boy  on  Ara- 
tus was  going  to  make  a  mighty  effort  to  win  about  the 
time  he  did  so,  and  he  also  applied  whip  and  spur.  Red 
Gauntlet  shot  ahead  and  won  by  seventy  or  eighty  yards. 
This  race  ruined  several  of  the  best  families  of  that  time  in 
the  South,  and  it  will  never  be  forgotten  by  their  descend- 
ants. 


CHAPTER  m. 
Some  Great  Races* 

There  was  probably  no  race  ever  run  in  the  history  of 
the  country  that  attracted  as  much  attention  as  did  that 
between  Wagner  and  Grey  Eagle  in  1839.  As  in  all  the 
other  great  races,  it  was  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
and  these  two  sections  were  arrayed  against  each  other  in 
the  betting. 

Grey  Eagle  was  a  four-year-old  gray  horse  by  Wood- 
pecker out  of  Ophelia,  by  Wild  Medley,  and  was  owned  by 
A.  L.  Shotwell,  of  Kentucky.  Wagner  was  a  five-year-old 
chestnut  horse  by  Sir  Charles  out  of  Maria  West,  by  Marion, 
and  was  owned  by  John  Campbell,  of  Maryland. 

The  race  took  place  at  Louisville  and  was  run  over  the 
old  Oakland  course.  Stephen  Welch,  a  white  boy,  had  the 
mount  on  Grey  Eagle,  while  Cato,  a  little  black  negro  be- 
strode the  Maryland  horse.  Wagner  won  the  first  heat, 
shaking  off  Grey  Eagle  on  the  last  turn.  Up  to  that  time  it 
was  thought  by  the  Kentuckians  that  the  gray  horse  had  a 
chance. 

The  next  and  deciding  heat  was  won  by  Wagner,  after 
one  of  the  grandest  battles  ever  fought.  All  the  way  around 
Grey  Eagle  led,  with  Wagner  hanging  on  closely.  First 
one  surged  ahead  and  then  the  other.  The  result  was  al- 
ways in  doubt,  but  Wagner  finally  won  by  a  neck.  The 
time  was  7:48  and  7:44. 

Thad  Stevens  won  a  four-mile-race  in  California  from 
True  Blue  and  several  others.  It  attracted  some  attention 
in  the  West  at  the  time,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  thought  to 
have  been  an  unfair  one.  The  other  horses  were  thought  to 
have  been  pulled. 

Boston  and  Fashion  ran  a  four-mile  race  over  the  Union 
Course  at  Long  Island  in  1842,  in  which  Fashion  won.  The 
race  was  hotly  contested,  but  Fashion  was  first  in  both  heats. 

Rudolph  and  Angora  raced  over  the  old  Oakland  track 
at  Louisville  in  a  match,  and  the  former  was  easily  the  victor. 
Considerable  money    was  wagered  on  the  result,   and  the 


27 

match  attracted  some  attention,  as  it  was  considered  a  con- 
test between  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  Rudolph  repre- 
sented Kentucky  and  Angora  stood  for  the  honor  of  Ten- 
nessee. 

Probably  the  last  great  race  of  all  the  long  distance  con- 
tests was  that  between  Ten  Broeck  and  Mollie  McCarthy.  It 
took  place  at  Churchill  Downs  on  July  4,  1878,  and  resulted 
in  a  victory  for  the  former.  Ten  Broeck  was  owned  by 
Frank  B.  Harper  and  was  by  imp.  Phaeton  out  of  Fanny 
Holton,  by  Lexington.  He  was  bred  in  Kentucky  and  car- 
ried the  colors  of  the  grand  old  commonwealth,  as  Kentuck- 
ians  are  wont  to  designate  their  state.  Mollie  McCarthy 
was  owned  in  California,  but  she  was  bred  in  Tennessee.  A 
match  was  arranged  between  them  for  $20,000  a  side,  and  a 
special  train  brought  Mollie  McCarthy  and  a  thousand 
Californians  to  "  the  dark  and  bloody  ground."  The  Ken- 
tuckians  were  loyal  to  the  great  son  of  Phaeton  and 
wagered  everything  they  had  on  the  result.  But  the 
people  from  the  Golden  Gate  were  said  to  have  brought 
fortunes  with  them  for  the  purpose  of  betting,  and  they 
quickly  covered  every  wager. 

Ten  Broeck  took  the  lead  from  the  start,  but  Walker, 
his  rider,  was  a  diplomat  and  he  did  not  race  his  horse  out 
at  the  very  outset  and  exhaust  his  speed.  He  rated  him  along 
for  the  first  three  miles  nicely,  always  leaving  Mollie  close 
behind.  When  the  finish  came  Ten  Broeck  was  first  under 
the  wire,  but  the  game  California  mare  was  not  far  away. 
Then  when  the  concluding  heat  came  it  was  apparent  that 
the  Californian  was  fast  tiring,  and  Harper  gave  instructions 
to  set  a  clip  that  would  end  the  matter,  for  he  was  positive 
that  his  horse  had  the  bottom  that  the  mare  lacked. 

Around  the  course  flew  the  mighty  Ten  Broeck.  Three 
times  the  circle  was  made  and  Mollie  was  staggering. 

"  One  thousand  even  that  Mollie  does  not  pass  under 
the  wire  again,"  yelled  Yankee  Bligh,  the  greatest  detective 
the  South  ever  knew. 

"  Done,"  said  a  patriotic  Californian,  and  the  money 
was  put  up  in  the  hands  of  Major  William  Owens,  who,  by 
the  way,  was  afterward  a  noted  detective  of  Louisville  and 
the  South. 

Mollie  was  staggering.     Her  race  was  nearly  run.     At 


28 

the  three-quarters  she  came  to  a  dead  standstill  and  Ten 
Broeck  romped  in  a  winner.  The  mare  was  led  over  to  the 
stable,  and  for  several  hours  a  veterinary  worked  with  her 
before  he  was  able  to  say  her  life  was  saved. 

The  great  race  run  by  Lexington  at  Lexington,  Ken. 
tucky,  in  1853,  should  not  be  omitted  while  we  are  on  the 
subject.  In  the  Phoenix  Hotel  stakes  he  met  Vandal, 
Garret  Davis,  Wild  Irishman,  Madonna,  Fannie  Fern  and 
others  of  similar  class.  He  won  the  first  heat  easily.  Be- 
fore the  next  heat  he  ran  off  and  ran  one  and  three-quarter 
miles,  but,  in  spite  of  this  mishap,  he  stepped  in  and  won  the 
succeeding  heat.  The  importance  of  this  race  will  be 
understood  when  it  is  known  that  every  one  of  the  other 
horses  engaged  in  the  contest  afterward  was  distinguished  as 
a  race  horse. 

During  the  same  week  Lexington  met  Midway  and  de- 
feated her  in  two  straight  heats.  Afterw^ard  he  was  pur- 
chased by  Captain  William  Viley,  Richard  Ten  Broeck  and 
Junius  Ward.  They  sent  him  to  New  Orleans,  where  he 
won  the  State  Stakes  from  Le  Compte,  Highlander  and 
Rube.  He  was  afterward  beaten  by  Le  Compte,  because 
he  was  pulled  up  at  the  end  of  three  miles  by  the  jockey 
through  a  mistake.  Le  Compte  went  on  and  opened  a  big 
gap.  Lexington  was  unable  to  make  it  up  later.  This  heat 
was  run  in  7:26,  the  best  that  had  ever  been  run  up  to  this 
time. 

In  the  following  year  T.  W.  Doswell,  through  John  Minor 
Botts,  bet  $20,000  with  Richard  Ten  Broeck  that  his  horse 
Lexington  could  not  beat  7:26,  the  time  in  which  he  had  been 
beaten  by  Le  Compte.  Mr.  Ten  Broeck  won  his  wager,  and 
his  horse  covered  the  distance  in  7:19^.  Four  horses 
were  started  with  him  to  regulate  the  pace,  one  in  each 
mile.  Men  with  flags  were  stationed  at  each  quarter  pole 
around  the  track  to  show  the  jockey  just  how  fast  he  was 
going  and  how  to  limit  the  pace. 

A  reason  why  the  merits  of  this  horse  have  been  dis- 
cussed at  such  length  is  that  he  was  equally  successful  in  the 
stud.  All  the  great  Leamingtons,  with  the  exception  of 
Longfellow  and  Rhadamanthus,  were  out  of  Lexington 
mares.  Aristides,  Enquirer,  Hyder  Ali,  Nettie  Norton  and  a 
host  of  others  assisted  in  perpetuating  the  fame  of  the  great 


29 

Lexing-ton.  All  this  goes  to  show  that  the  Lexingrton  mares 
bred  to  Leamington  are  responsible  to  a  marked  extent  for 
the  latter's  success  in  the  stud. 

A  thrilling  episode  of  the  early  turf  days,  and  one  not  so 
far  back  but  there  will  be  many  who  will  also  remember  it,  and 
there  are  perhaps  many  who  were  present  and  witnessed 
the  occurrence,  as  I  did,  occurs.  Prince  McGrath  was  as 
game  and  honorable  a  turfman  as  there  was  anywhere.  He 
owned  Aristides,  known  as  "the  little  red  horse,"  the  winner 
of  the  first  Kentucky  Derby.  Of  course,  Harper  thought 
Ten  Broeck  was  the  fastest  horse  that  ever  set  foot  on  a 
track,  and,  although  he  never  made  a  wager  of  any  kind, 
depending  solely  on  the  purses  and  stakes  he  won  for  his 
profit,  he  was  always  ready  to  race  his  horse. 

While  Aristides  had  won  the  Derby,  he  was  considered 
no  match  for  the  mighty  Ten  Broeck,  and  the  people,  as  a 
general  thing,  thought  Ten  Broeck  had  the  race  arranged 
between  them  at  his  mercy.  It  was  for  two  and  five-eighths 
miles  and  was  over  the  old  Lexington  track.  The  beauty 
and  chivalry  of  the  fair  Bluegrass  section  was  gathered  there 
to  witness  the  race.  There  were  bookmakers  in  plenty  on 
the  grounds  ready  to  take  the  money  of  those  who  desired 
to  wager.  But  Price  McGrath  mounted  a  box  and  shouted 
to  the  people : 

"  Come  on  if  you  want  to  bet  against  my  horse.  1  will 
take  all  your  money  and  give  you  the  same  odds  the  bookies 
offer.  You  will  lose  what  you  bet  anyhow.  You  might  as 
well  give  it  to  a  neighbor  whom  you  all  know.  Come  on  ; 
don't  be  afraid.  I  am  here  ready  for  business.  You  know 
me.  You  know  I  can  pay  and  that  I  will  do  it.  Give  me 
your  money.     I  need  it." 

He  had  on  a  long  linen  duster  with  great  big  pockets, 
and  soon  they  were  bulging  with  money.  He  took  it  in 
with  both  hands.  Each  man  kept  his  own  account.  Mc- 
Grath gave  out  no  tickets  and  depended  upon  the  honor  of 
the  bettors  to  keep  a  correct  account,  for  everybody  was 
honest  in  those  days  and  racing  had  not  become  the  gambling 
game  that  it  is  now.  Men  told  the  truth  and  trickery  was 
unknown. 

They  were  at  the  post.  Bobby  Swim  had  the  mount  on 
the  little  red  horse  and   Billy  Walker,  a  negro  jockey,  who 


3° 

afterward  became  a  well-known  owner  and  trainer,  bestrode 
Ten  Broeck.  In  fact,  the  negro  jockey  always  rode  Ten 
Broeck  and  made  all  his  records,  for  Harper  set  great  store 
by  his  sable-hued  rider. 

At  the  end  of  each  mile  Aristides  led,  and  finally  he  came 
on  and  won  handily.  And  in  the  mighty  shout  that  followed 
his  victory  over  the  supposedly  invincible  Ten  Broeck  there 
was  no  voice  that  was  half  so  loud  as  that  of  McGrath.  Had 
he  had  to  pay  out  the  money  that  was  wagered  against  his 
horse's  chances  he  would  have  been  poverty  stricken  and 
would  never  have  been  able  to  get  on  his  feet  again.  But 
that  night  there  was  many  a  sparkling  bottle  of  champagne 
opened  and  there  was  much  merrymaking  in  consequence  of 
the  victory  of  Aristides. 

The  race  between  Gray  Medoc,  Altorf  and  Denizen  was 
a  thrilling  contest.  It  took  place  on  the  Louisiana  course, 
April  4,  1 841,  and  thousands  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  were  present  and  saw  it.  Enthusiasm  was  at  its 
highest  pitch,  for  all  the  contenders  had  hosts  of  admirers. 
The  conditions  were  for  four-mile  heats  for  a  Jockey  Club 
Purse  of  $1,000,  and  it  had  been  advertised  from  one  end  of 
the  country  to  the  other. 

The  entries  were  Mr.  John  Campbell's  Altorf  (he  owned 
the  celebrated  Wagner  and  Glovina),  trained  by  Watson  and 
Vanleer ;  Mr.  Boardman's  Denizen,  temporarily  in  the  stable 
of  Camp  &  Blevins,  and  Messrs.  Kenner's  Grey  Medoc, 
trained  by  Washington  Graves.  Grey  Medoc  was  well 
known  as  one  of  the  fastest  horses  on  the  turf,  and  was  in 
condition  to  run  for  a  man's  life.  He  was  backed  freely  at 
3  and  4  to  I  against  the  field.  Altorf,  a  capital  performer  in 
Virginia,  where  $10,000  was  paid  for  him,  had  lost  ground 
since  his  arrival  in  the  South  from  having  run  several  races 
while  out  of  order.  He  had  lately  arrived,  too,  from  Mobile, 
and  suffered  much  from  a  stormy  passage  across  the  lake,  as 
also  had  Denizen. 

Grey  Medoc's  trainer  had  frequently  assured  me  that 
he  was  as  game  as  any  horse  he  ever  trained,  not  excepting 
the  fleet  Luda.  Just  think  of  his  running  a  heat  in  7:35  and 
his  eighth  mile  in  1:48,  and  a  third  heat  of  four  miles  in  7:42. 
Had  the  reader  seen  him  come  along  up  the  quarter  stretch 
at  the  close  of  his  sixteenth  mile — so  gallantly  and  so  beauti- 


31 

fully,  his  high  spirit  unsubdued,  with  crest  erect  and  di- 
lated nostrils — and  observed  his  proud  bearing  and  flashing 
eyes,  he  might  have  termed  this  equine  prodigy  the  wraith 
of  the  matchless  Bucephalus,  the  pride  of  Alexander  the 
Great  of  Macedonia.  Truly  he  was  a  picture,  such  as  is  suf- 
ficient at  any  time  to  gladden  the  heart  of  every  true  lover  of 
the  turf  and  its  horses. 

The  first  heat  was  a  dead  one  between  Grey  Medoc  and 
Altorf ;  time,  7:35.  In  the  second  heat  there  was  also  a 
struggle  between  these  two  monarchs  of  the  land  of  racing — 
Grey  Medoc  and  Altorf — but  the  latter  won  by  less  than  a 
head ;  time,  8:19. 

But  Altorf  was  tiring  and  in  the  third  trial  Grey  Medoc 
easily  beat  Altorf,  although  it  is  said  the  latter  was  laying  up 
and  not  trying  for  this  heat,  leaving  it  to  the  other  two.  The 
time  was  7:42. 

The  result  of  this  heat  entitled  but  two  to  start  for  the 
fourth  heat,  Denizen  being  declared  distanced  for  not  having 
won  a  heat  in  three.  He  was  withdrawn  and  sent  to  the 
stable,  to  the  regret  of  every  one. 

But  Grey  Medoc  and  Altorf  were  apparently  fresh  and 
full  of  fire.  They  were  off  together,  running  easily  side  by 
side  for  the  two  first  miles ;  but  Grey  Medoc  was  seemingly 
winning  easily.  Then  there  came  a  hush  over  the  vast  as- 
semblage. Altorf,  who  had  made  such  a  gallant  struggle, 
had  run  his  race.  He  was  poor  in  flesh  and  he  could  not 
stand  the  awful  strain.  Lawson,  the  rider  of  Altorf,  plied 
whip  and  spur  and  urged  the  splendid  animal  to  his  utmost. 
But  his  bolt  had  been  shot  and  Grey  Medoc  was  his  master. 
John  Ford,  who  had  the  mount  on  Grey  Medoc,  made  a  mas- 
terful effort.  It  was  due  to  his  skill  and  management  of  the 
horse  under  him  that  enabled  him  to  win,  and  the  public 
seemed  to  feel  this  fact.  Chiffeny  and  Robertson  could  have 
done  no  better,  and  this  piece  of  work  stamped  him  as  their 
equal. 

Coming  out  of  the  grand  stand  Ford  was  met  by  hun- 
dreds of  people  who  had  wagered  their  money  on  Grey 
Medoc,  and  they  filled  his  hat  with  bank  notes.  There  were 
seven  or  eight  thousand  dollars  in  the  pile  when  he  made 
his  way  home.  In  those  days  owners  divided  the  purse  with 
the  trainer  and  the  stable  boys.    The  race  was  the  talk  of  the 


32 

whole  country  for  weeks.  Some  questioned  the  accuracy  of 
the  distance  of  the  track,  and  it  was  decided  to  have  a  care- 
ful measurement  made  by  the  civil  engineer  of  the  State. 
This  was  done  the  next  day  and  the  track  was  found  to  be 
something  over  a  mile,  as  the  certificate  showed. 

A  great  twenty-mile  race  took  place  over  the  Union 
Course  at  Long  Island,  and  was  won  by  Black  Maria,  who 
defeated  Trifle,  Lady  Relief  and  Slim;  the  lormer  was  by 
Eclipse  and  the  latter  by  Sir  Charles'  Relief,  also  by  Eclipse. 
The  great  Slim,  by  Flying  Childers,  was  also  in  the 
race,  and  it  was  a  battle  royal.  Trifle  was  made  the  favor- 
ite. Black  Maria's  chances  were  thought  lightly  of,  and  she 
had  few  admirers.  It  was  a  struggle  between  the  North  and 
South. 

At  the  post  Black  Maria  stood  as  motionless  as  a  statue. 
She  was  perfectly  cool  and  not  in  the  least  excited.  It  then 
began  to  be  whispered  about  that  she  had  a  chance.  They 
got  off  well  together.  Lady  Relief  taking  the  lead,  with  Slim 
close  up.  Trifle  was  next  and  Black  Maria  was  absolutely 
last.  It  was  apparent  from  the  start  that  a  waiting  race  was 
being  run  by  all  the  riders,  and  that  the  winner  was  hardly 
likely  to  turn  up  until  in  the  last  turn  of  the  heat. 

Black  Maria  moved  up  rapidly  at  the  end  of  the  second 
mile  and  took  the  lead,  closely  pressed  by  Trifle.  Thus  it 
was  during  the  third  mile.  When  about  half  the  distance 
had  been  gone  over  in  the  fourth  mile  Trifle  moved  up  and 
took  the  lead.  She  seemed  to  have  it  won  until  the  last  six- 
teenth. At  this  juncture  the  rider  of  Black  Maria  called  on 
her  and  she  responded  nobly.  Like  a  flash  she  shot  past 
the  fleet-footed  Trifle  and  passed  under  the  wire  a  winner. 
The  time  was  8:06. 

Trifle  was  still  the  favorite  when  the  horses  came  to  the 
post  for  the  second  heat,  but  the  owner  of  the  sable-hued 
mare  bet  everything  he  had  on  her  chances.  Lady  Relief 
got  off  in  front,  with  Slim  second,  Trifle  third  and  Black 
Maria  last.  At  the  end  of  the  mile  Trifle  took  the  lead.  Slim 
quit  in  the  third  circuit  and  refused  to  run  any  further.  By 
this  time  Black  Maria  had  moved  up  from  the  rear  and  took 
the  lead.  At  the  last  turn  the  boy  on  Black  Maria  turned  to 
look  back  to  see  where  Trifle  was,  and  the  latter,  close  be- 
hind, the  result  was  a  dead  heat.     But  Black  Maria  was  not 


33 

at  all  distressed,  and  seemed  as  chipper  as  when  she  had 
been  led  out  for  the  start. 

Trifle  took  the  lead  for  the  third  heat,  with  Lady  Relief 
second  and  Black  Maria,  as  usual,  last.  The  black  mare  had 
got  such  a  bad  start,  though,  that  she  could  not  catch  up, 
and  Trifle  won,  though  hard  pressed  by  Lady  Relief. 

Lady  Relief  got  the  best  of  the  start  for  the  fourth  heat, 
with  Trifle  second  and  Black  Maria  last.  Three  miles  were 
gone  over  in  this  way  without  a  change  of  positions,  and 
Lady  Relief  seemed  to  have  won.  Then  Black  Maria  was 
urged,  and  she  shot  toward  the  front.  Relief  won  by  a  neck, 
and  sixteen  miles  had  been  run  by  the  game  thoroughbreds. 

At  the  start  for  the  fifth  heat  Lady  Relief  was  in  front, 
Trifle  second  and  Black  Maria  last.  Trifle  gave  it  up  at  the 
end  of  the  nineteenth  mile.  Lady  Relief  was  leading  when 
the  two  contenders  galloped  into  the  stretch,  but  Black 
Maria  was  moving  up.  Now  they  were  neck  and  neck,  each 
boy  riding  like  a  demon.  Slowly  but  surely  the  black  mare 
drew  away  from  her  game  antagonist,  and  finally  passed 
under  the  wire  a  winner  amid  the  plaudits  of  a  great  crowd. 

It  was  certainly  a  grand  race,  and  illustrated  beyond  a 
doubt  that  Black  Maria  was  one  of  the  grandest  mares  the 
country  has  ever  produced.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  twen- 
tieth mile  she  was  not  "all  out''  by  any  means,  and  could 
have  done  another  heat  with  ease. 

There  have  been  many  dead  heats  run  on  the  race 
tracks  of  the  world,  but  there  was  never  one  so  great  as 
that  between  Life  Boat,  Elakim  and  Prioress  for  Ihe  Czaro- 
witch  Stakes  in  1856.  Life  Boat  and  Elakim  were  bred  and 
owned  in  England  and  Prioress  was  the  property  of  Richard 
Ten  Broeck,  of  Kentucky. 

The  three  horses  finished  under  the  wire  so  closely 
together  that  the  judges  were  unable  to  determine  which 
had  won.  Another  heat  resulted  in  a  victory  for  the 
American  mare. 

Prioress  was  by  sovereign,  out  of  Reel,  and  was  bred 
by  Jeiferson  Wells,  of  Louisiana.  Life  Boat  went  into  the 
race  as  a  red  hot  favorite  and  the  Britishers  bet  their 
money  on  his  chances  eagerly.  The  second  choice  was 
Elakim,  and  the  American  daughter  of  the  great  Reel  was 
scoffed  at  by  all  save  the  few  Americans  who  happened  to  be 


34 

present.  A  certain  pride  of  nativity  made  them  put  down 
their  dollars  on  the  mare  that  carried  the  colors  of  the  land 
over  which  the  eagle  screams  and  the  motto  of  which  says 
"Hustle." 

The  British  taunted  the  Americans  and  then  out  came 
dollars  from  yarn  socks  and  every  hiding  place,  showing 
that  the  spirit  of  '' 'jd  was  not  only  not  dead,  but  was  not 
even  sleeping.  Mr.  Ten  Broeck,  who  was  a  man  with  an 
immense  amount  of  nerve,  fairly  poured  the  gold  into  the 
ring  on  his  brown  mare. 

It  was  and  anxious  crowd  that  watched  that  race  from 
the  grand  stand,  but  Mr.  Ten  Broeck  never  for  a  moment 
faltered  in  his  allegiance  to  his  mare. 

'*  She  will  win,"  he  said  firmly,  and  his  friends  believed 
him. 

At  the  drop  of  the  flag  away  flew  the  American  mare, 
setting  a  furious  pace.  Old  timers  fairly  held  their  breath 
and  said  no  horse  ever  bred  could  stand  such  speed  for  any 
length  of  time.  The  two  English  horses  were  doing  their 
best,  but  the  gap  gradually  widened  between  them  and  the 
flying  leader,  who  showed  not  the  slightest  sign  of  faltering. 
Indeed,  she  seemed  to  gain  fresh  strength  with  each  fling 
forward  of  her  lithe  and  silken-covered  form.  Life  Boat 
stagered.  His  tail  went  up  in  the  air.  His  race  was  run. 
Elakim,  with  the  sturdy  tenacity  of  his  Arabian  sires,  clung 
on.  But  there  was  a  limit  to  endurance.  Elakim  reached 
it.  His  struggle  was  ended.  He  could  battle  no  more. 
Both  horses,  beaten,  dropped  back  in  the  ruck,  and  for  the 
remainder  of  the  distance  the  twinkling  heels  of  swift 
Prioress  danced  in  their  faces. 

Dismay  filled  the  English  hearts,  and  a  shout  went  up 
from  the  little  colony  of  Americans  such  as  one  only  hears 
on  the  Fourth  of  July  here  at  home. 

Thousands  of  English  sovereigns  were  rapidly  changed 
into  American  dollars,  and  Admiral  Rouse,  who  was  the 
judge,  said  Prioress  was  the  best  game  animal  of  the  year 
in  the  whole  world. 

Of  course,  the  great  dead  heat  between  Domino  and 
Henry  of  Navarre  was  the  greatest  one  of  the  kind  ever  run 
in  America,  and  it  is  still  fresh  in  the  public  mind. 


35 

Another  was  the  dead  heat  between  D'Artagnan  and 
Ozark,  the  brown  son  of  Pat  Maloy  and  imp.  Sunny 
South,  which  was  run  at  Saratoga.  It  attracted  attention 
everywhere  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where  the  people  are 
interested  in  the  development  of  the  thoroughbred. 

Of  the  many  sensational  races  which  have  been  run  in  Amer- 
ica during  the  last  twenty-five  years,  none  has  given  more 
general  interest  and  concern  than  the  great  dead  heat  for  the 
Saratoga  Cup  between  Preakness  and  Springbock.  When 
in  the  same  race  such  brilliant  performers  as  Grinsted,  Wild 
Idle,  Olitipa  and  Ruthiford  were  left  to  struggle  so  far  in 
the  rear,  the  time,  3m.  56i^s.,  was  a  record  breaker,  and 
remains  the  record  up  to  this  day.  Another  one  of  the  most 
noted  races  which  has  taken  place  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  on  the  American  turf  was  the  great 
struggle  in  the  dead  heat  at  Sheepshead  Bay  between  those 
two  giants  of  the  turf,  Dobins  and  Domino.  There  probably 
never  was  any  race  that  took  place  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York  which  created  such  local  interest  and  enthusiasm  as 
this  one.  The  two  memorable  victories  of  the  great  Mono- 
chist  over  the  celebrated  Harry  Bassett,  there  and  then  again 
in  a  few  days,  four  miles,  were  very  popular  local  victories, 
which  came  like  an  unexpected  avalanche  upon  the  betting 
public,  but  not  so  his  trainer  or  his  owner. 

One  of  the  greatest  races,  especially  over  a  distance  of 
ground,  was  the  four-mile  heat  race  which  took  place  over 
the  Sheepshead  Bay  track  and  was  between  Fereader,  Glen- 
more  and  some  other  whose  name  I  don't  recall  at  this  time, 
and  was  won  by  Fereader  in  the  best  time  ever  made  by 
any  mare  in  the  world,  7m.  23s.  The  great  strug- 
gles between  Harry  Bassett  and  the  great  Longfellow  for 
the  Monmouth  Park  Cup  and  the  Saratoga  Cup,  in  which 
they  alternated  successes,  Longfellow  winning  and  beat 
ing  Bassett  at  Monmouth  Park,  and  Bassett  in  turn  beating 
Longfellow  for  the  Saratoga  Cup  the  same  season.  In  this 
last  race  Longfellow  pulled  up  lame  and  was  never  trained 
afterwards,  but  was  consigned  to  the  stud,  where  he  greatly 
distinguished  himself  through  his  progeny.  Another 
amongst  the  greatest  races  that  ever  took  place  at  any  time 
or  place  in  America,  in  my  humble  opinion,  and  this  opinion 
was   shared  by  the  two  gentlemen  who  owned  the  horses 


36 

between  which  the  race  occurred — this  was  the  race  between 
Prince  Leafe  and  Ben  Brush,  i  ^  miles,  128  lbs.  up,  in  2m.  34s., 
track  actually  heavy.  In  talking  over  the  race  the  fol- 
lowing- day,  both  Mr.  Michael  Dwyer  and  Byron  McClel- 
land agreed  that  it  was  by  all  odds  the  best  race  that  either 
had  ever  seen  run,  Mr.  Dwyer  remarking  that  he  believed 
that  the  race  in  question  would  have  won  any  English 
Derby  that  had  ever  taken  place.  At  that  moment  he  re- 
marked :  "  I  have  nobody  to  blame  but  myself ;  though  1  ran 
the  best  horse  and  lost,  and  lost  my  money  also,  1  fully 
agree  with  them  that  unless  the  race  run  by  Scisonby  last 
fall,  2%  miles,  over  the  Sheepshead  Bay  track,  was  as  good, 
or  perhaps  better,  I  never  saw  any  other  as  good." 

Another  of  the  great  races  that  made  an  epoch  on  the 
American  turf  close  to  the  middle  of  the  19th  century  took 
place  over  the  Woodlawn  Course,  near  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
the  contestants  in  this  race  being  Molly  Jackson,  by  Vandal, 
out  of  Emily  Right,  by  imported  Margrave,  and  Colton,  by 
Lexington,  dam  Topaze  by  imported  Glenco;  Sherod,  by 
Lecompt,  dam  the  famous  Picayune,  by  Medock  ;  and  al- 
though one  of  the  fasicsi  races  ever  run  in  the  world,  at  the 
distance,  even  up  to  this  day,  and  won  at  three  heats  by  Molly 
Jackson,  the  first  heat  won  by  Molly  Jackson  in  5m.  35  ^s., 
Colton  second,  Sherod  third  and  Betty  Ward  last  in  this 
heat.  The  second  heat  was  won  by  Sherod,  who  led  Molly 
Jackson  by  half  a  length,  Colton  third,  time  5:34^  ;  the  third 
heat  was  lost  to  Molly  Jackson  by  Mer  Clay's  horse  Colton 
making  a  most  palpable  foul  on  Sherod,  by  carrying  him 
clean  out  to  the  outside  fence  as  Sherod  started  to  make  his 
run  at  the  head  of  the  last  stretch,  causing  Sherod  to  lose  at 
least  five  or  six  lengths,  which  he  had  to  make  up  in  less 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  was  only  beaten  a  neck  on  the 
post  in  fastest  heat,  less  three-quarters  of  a  second,  which 
had  been  made  in  California  by  Norfolk,  when  he  ran  three 
miles  in  5m.  27^5.,  this  third  heat  won  by  Molly  in  5:28^. 
It  was  evident  that  Sherod  was  the  best  horse  inthis  race  and 
should  have  won  but  for  Colton's  interference  at  the  head 
of  the  stretch,  which  won  the  race  for  Mollie  Jackson,  beat- 
ing Sherod  only  a  neck  on  the  post  with  Bettie  Ward  third  ; 
the  last  or  ninth  mile  of  this  remarkable  race  was  run  in 
im.  48s,,  and  the  heat  in  5m.  28%s. 


37 

Of  the  great  fillies  bred  and  raced  on  the  American 
turf  during  the  last  fifty  years,  if  not  during  any  age  of  the 
American  turf,  there  is  not  one  who  stands  higher  and  justly 
so  than  does  that  little  prodigy,  Firenze.  She  beat  all  of  the 
best  race  horses  of  her  day,  and  was  to  the  turf,  as  a  mare, 
just  what  Salvator  was  as  a  horse.  Firenze  was  by  Glen- 
elge,  out  of  Florida,  and  was  foaled  in  1884  at  the  Elmendorf 
Stud,  near  Lexington,  Kentucky.  A  list  of  her  victories 
during  the  seven  years  that  she  was  on  the  turf  would  in- 
clude all  of  the  great  prizes.  She  met  and  defeated  Han- 
over, The  Bard,  Exile,  Tenny  and  other  noted  kings  and 
queens  of  the  turf.  Some  of  her  most  noted  achievements 
were  the  winning  of  the  Harvest  Handicap,  the  Monmouth 
Cup  and  the  Monmouth  Handicap  in  1888,  the  Handicap 
Sweepstakes  at  Monmouth  in  1889. 

Salina,  the  dam  of  Salvator,  was  a  good  race  mare  and 
granddaughter  of  the  famous  mare  Levity,  by  imported 
Trustee.  In  his  Levity  strains  Salvator  had  some  of  the 
bluest  blood  and  the  most  highly  prized  in  this  country.  In 
1889  he  won  all  of  the  choicest  prizes  that  are  set  apart  for 
three-year-olds,  except  the  Omnibus  Stakes.  In  1890  he 
reached  the  height  of  his  glory ;  that  year  was  the  scene 
of  the  fierce  struggle  with  Tenny;  he  won  the  Suburban  in 
2m.  6  4-5S.,  the  best  time  that  had  yet  been  recorded 
for  the  event.  His  achievement  was  not  a  surprise, 
for  he  was  a  prime  favorite  in  the  betting.  Tenny  ran  third 
in  this  race,  which  led  to  the  special  match  between  the  two 
that  came  off  a  week  later,  Salvator  again  defeating  his  op- 
ponent. In  August  of  that  same  year  he  ran  his  great 
mile  for  a  purse  against  the  record,  im.  39XS.;  this  race  was 
run  at  the  Monmouth  Park,  and  the  time  which  the  peer- 
less son  of  Prince  Charley  put  up,  im.  35>^s.,  has  remained 
the  record,  unchallenged,  ever  since.  The  same  year  he  won 
the  Titan  stakes,  the  Jersey  Handicap,  the  September 
stakes  and  other  important  events.  After  his  retirement 
from  the  turf  he  stood  at  Mr.  J.  B.  Haggin's  Rancho  Del 
Paso  Stud. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Origfin  of  Steeplechasingf. 

The  origin  of  steeplechasing  is  absolutely  a  creature  of 
Irish  adventure.  The  Irish  gentlemen,  who  were  not  only- 
fond  of  following  the  hounds,  but  reveled  in  every  feature 
of  the  chase,  some  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago, 
not  altogether  satisfied  with  taking  the  ditches,  streamlets 
and  hedges,  concluded  to  introduce  the  taking  of  six-foot 
stiff  timbers  as  a  better  test  of  man's  art  in  the  pigskin  and 
likewise  his  moral  courage  and  nerve.  Although  many  a 
gallant  fellow,  in  taking  these  jumps,  was  involuntarily  dis- 
mounted and  sometimes  carried  home  with  sore  shoulders, 
or  sprained  legs  or  arms,  nevertheless  this  was  kept  up  for 
several  years,  to  the  delectation  and  amusement  of  all 
classes. 

In  about  the  year  1735  they  began  cross-country  racing, 
and  thence  about  this  time  they  also  began  to  give  small 
prizes  under  the  auspices  of  hurdle  racing,  and  this  was 
soon  indorsed  by  all  of  the  Irish  nobility  and  countenanced 
by  every  class  of  citizens.  It  was  of  but  short  duration 
before  it  resolved  itself  in  the  estimation  of  this  sport-loving 
people  as  the  greatest  out-door  recreation  known  to  man; 
and  as  every  turf  student  well  knows  that  no  people  on  the 
earth  has  a  higher  estimate  of  the  thoroughbred  horse  and 
has  done  as  much  to  encourage  and  foster  every  class 
of  racing,  yet  with  them  steeplechase  racing  held  high  car- 
nival in  the  hearts  of  this  people,  even  in  the  days  when 
they  had  their  greatest  flat  racers,  such,  for  instance,  as 
their  Harkaways,  Economist,  old  Fogaballa,  etc.,  this  style 
of  racing  held  its  popularity  supreme  over  other  sports,  and 
does  yet. 

About  eighty  years  ago  a  great  match  race  took  place 
and  was  run  in  the  public  road,  which  was  chained  and 
measured ;  the  distance  was  five  miles  and  terminated 
at  a  point  known  in  Ireland  as  "The  Red  Church."  The 
stakes  were  for  $5,000  a  side  and  was  won  by  a  horse  called 
Peter  Maning.     Over  this   match   excitement  was  carried 


39 

clean  into  England,  and  many  thousand  pounds  were  won 
and  lost  on  this  contest.  The  race  was  well  contested  all 
of  the  way  over  eight  hurdles,  until  the  last  one,  when  one 
of  the  contestants  fell,  dislocated  a  shoulder,  and  was 
destroyed  in  consequence.  This  race  gave  rise,  or  inspired, 
so  it  is  said,  steeplechasing  and  hurdle  racing  in  England, 
where  ever  since  it  has  been  conducted  on  the  scale  of  mag- 
nificence, to  the  delight  of  all  patrons  and  the  nobility  of 
Europe  ;  even  King  Edward  often  has  a  horse  entered  in 
the  race  to  give  character  and  to  add  to  its  zest. 

About  fifty-three  years  ago  Mr.  R.  A.  Alexander  con- 
ceived the  idea  and  undertook  to  encourage  hurdle  racing 
in  America,  and  he,  being  a  grand  man,  who  did  everything 
in  a  grand  way,  commenced  it  it  in  the  right  way.  At  first 
he  employed  Bill  Jennings  as  both  jockey  and  trainer,  with 
Brown  Dick,  or  Edward  Brown,  and  Harvey  Welch  as  his 
assistant  riders  or  steeplechase  and  hurdle  jockies,  but,  best 
of  all,  from  the  very  start,  he  sent  good  cattle  into  the  field, 
and  the  result  was  both  a  popular  and  grand  success.  This 
is  the  class  of  men  that  make  a  success  in  all  enterprises  ; 
they  bring  light  out  of  chaos. 

Mr.  Robert  A.  Alexander's  career  as  a  turfman  was  not 
long  lived,  but  oh,  what  a  brilliant  and  beneficent  one  it 
was,  and  what  a  valuable  adjunct  the  breeding  world  and 
turf  lost  when  the  grim  reaper  of  death  called  him  to  doff 
his  hat.  Just  suppose  he  could  have  been  spared  to  have 
lived  so  he  could  have  vied  in  the  best  interest  of  the  Amer- 
ican turf  with  such  men  as  William  C.  Whitney,  August 
Belmont,  James  R.  Keene  and  other  noted  leaders  of  the 
American  turf  to-day.  It  only  remains  for  a  few  of  these 
latter  gentlemen  to  identify  themselves  with  hurdle  racing 
to  bring  it  up  to  that  high  pitch  it  so  justly  deserves  as  a 
novel  and  grand  sport.  With  the  great  number  of  thor- 
oughbreds we  are  breeding  in  this  country  annually,  we 
should  find  no  difficulty  in  soon  producing  the  winner  of 
the  Grand  Metropolitan  Handicap  Steeplechase  in  England. 
Join  hands  and  hearts  and  let's  see  if  we  can't  go  over  and 
show  John  Bull  the  way  to  lay  the  rail  and  that  we  are  the 
only  people  who  can  stay  on  it  after  it  is  laid.  All  that  is 
needed  to  do  so  is  to  breed  a  few  more  Rosebens,  learn 
them  to  take  the  jumps,  then  keep  them  under  cover  prop- 


40 

erly  and  land  in  old  England  some  congenial  morning  and 
shake  hands  with  English  gentry  and  get  a  mortgage  on  the 
British  Islands.  The  thing  can  be  done.  This  is  from  an 
optimistic  standpoint  and  I  must  confess  that  I  have  yet  to 
hear  of  a  man  that  expects  to  hit  the  moon  by  shooting 
downward  instead  of  upward. 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Strain  of  Blood* 

There  are  hundreds  of  other  races  that  have  a  claim  to 
distinction,  but  lack  of  space  forbids  their  mention.  These, 
however,  are  given  simply  to  show  to  what  illustrious  line- 
age the  horses  of  to-day  are  able  to  point  when  they  are 
actually  bred  in  the  purple.  It  is  my  intention  to  endeavor 
to  illustrate  as  far  as  possible  why  a  man  makes  a  mistake  in 
not  buying  a  good  horse,  instead  of  one  of  mediocre  ability, 
when  he  concludes  to  embark  in  racing  as  a  business. 

I  have  tried  to  show  where  the  best  strains  of  blood  lie 
and  for  what  the  horses  mentioned  were  especially  noted. 
In  following  me  through  this  work  the  reader  will  readily 
comprehend  why  certain  crosses  in  breeding  are  essential  to 
produce  speed  and  endurance.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may 
be  urged  that  the  celebrated  Brown  Kitty,  Picayune,  Min- 
erva Anderson,  Black  Sophia  and  others  were  not  thorough- 
breds. Brown  Kitty  had  no  breeding,  with  the  exception 
of  one  cross  by  Birmingham,  being  out  of  George  Thomas' 
quarter  mare  Kit,  who,  although  bred  to  Glencoe,  Imported 
Trustee  and  other  of  the  best  stallions  of  Kentucky,  was 
never  able  to  produce  a  foal  of  any  consequence. 

Picayune  had  three  crosses  on  her  dam's  side,  but  they 
were  good.  She  was  bred  by  Ben  Jenkins.  She  gave  to 
the  world  Ha'penny,  Miss  Belle,  Doubloon,  Florin,  Louis 
d'Or,  Ducatoon,  Lindora,  Dime,  Sherrod  and  others. 

Minerva  Anderson  was  not  of  the  quality.  She  brought 
forth  Mariam,  who  was  the  dam  of  Magenta,  who  in  turn 
was  the  dam  of  the  Duke  of  Magenta.  Mariam  had  no 
claim  to  distinction  regarding  her  parentage.  She,  in  my 
opinion,  proved  to  be  one  of  the  best  brood  mares  up  to  the 
present  time. 

Black  Sophia,  by  Topgallant,  was  the  dam  of  Sarah 
Bladen,  Bob  Sarden  and  a  host  of  other  performers  of  note 
on  the  turf. 

Still,  with  all  this  evidence,  I  contend  that  it  is  better 
to  own  a  horse  actually  in  the  purple  than  one  of  obscure 


42 

origin,  for  blood  will  tell.  Breeding  is  a  lottery.  We  see 
every  year  men  giving  thousands  of  dollars  for  the  grandest 
horses  of  Europe  and  the  Orient,  and  often  when  they  bring 
them  to  this  country  they  are  never  able  to  get  anything 
worthy  of  notice.  The  hardy  characteristics,  good  temper 
and  fine  feeding  properties  must  be  obtained. 

Why  did  Glencoe  succeed  so  admirably?  The  answer 
is  the  only  one  that  can  be  given :  He  was  crossed  on  our 
game,  hardy  Medoc,  Wagner,  Bertrand  and  Sumpter  mares. 

The  reason  so  much  nervous  temperament  is  discernible 
in  the  horse  of  this  day,  compared  with  the  horse  of  former 
years,  is  because  we  are  getting  so  far  away  from  these 
level-headed  mares.  We  must  breed  scientifically  and  give 
the  matter  the  deepest  thought.  And  in  this  connection  it 
will  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  some  of  the  famous 
regally  bred  matrons  who  have  founded  families  that 
attained  distinction. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  case  of  Maria  Black.  She  was 
by  Filho-da-puta,  and  was  a  winner  at  all  distances.  She 
left  a  progeny  that  became  famous.  Her  first  colt  was  John 
Black,  by  Imported  Trustee.  He  was  a  good,  consistent 
performer.  Her  next  foal  was  Sallie  Waters,  by  Glencoe. 
She  was  a  grand  mare,  and  was  matched  against  Lexington 
for  $5,000  in  three-mile  heats,  but,  of  course,  she  could  not 
beat  the  blind  hero.  Then  she  foaled  Hebron,  by  Lexing- 
ton, and  he  was  sent  to  England ;  Bay  Flower,  Bay  Water, 
Bay  Final,  Preakness  and  Bayonet,  all  by  Lexington,  and  all 
of  whom  were  well-known  performers.  But  the  principal 
claim  to  distinction  of  this^mare  was  through  her  daughter 
Oak  Leaf,  by  Imported  Yorkshire.  Several  of  the  foals  of 
Oak  Leaf  were  sent  to  England  and  were  winners  over  there. 

Mary  Morris,  by  Medoc,  dam  Miss  Obstinate  or  The 
Mule,  by  Sumpter,  was  a  great  mare.  She  produced  Wild 
Irishman  and  Frankfort,  by  Imported  Glencoe.  One  of  her 
daughters  was  Kitty  Clark,  by  Glencoe,  who  produced 
Maiden,  by  Lexington,  who  in  turn  produced  Parole, 
Pawnee,  James  A.  and  others.  Another  was  La  Henderson, 
who  produced  the  Great  Fereda  and  Aella.  The  former 
was  the  best  filly  in  America  of  her  years  and  has  to  her 
credit  the  fastest  and  best  heat  at  four  miles  ever  run  by  any 
mare  in  the  world.     It  was  done  at  the  Sheepshead  Bay 


43 

track  when  she  beat  Glenmore.  The  author  was  present 
and  timed  this  race.  Alone  this  race  would  have  made  her 
famous  and  also  brought  glory  to  Mary  Morris.  Then  there 
was  Parole,  the  fastest  two-  and  three-year-old  of  his  years  in 
America.  He  won  the  Suburban  Handicap  in  England,  in 
which  he  met  and  defeated  Isonomy,  the  best  horse  of  the 
period. 

Now  comes  Maria  Grey,  by  Robin  Grey,  who  is  the 
source  of  the  Vandal  family.  Colonel  Milt  Young,  the  well- 
known  Kentuckian  and  turf  authority,  believes  after  careful 
investigation  that  no  other  family  of  horses  ever  produced 
so  many  celebrities  at  all  distances.  Maria  Grey  was  the 
dam  of  Rowena,  by  Sumpter,  who  was  the  grandam  of 
Lexington  and  great-grandam  of  Vandal.  Of  this  famous 
family  were  Black  Nose,  Alaric,  Carlotta,  Ruric,  Stamps, 
Barney  Williams,  Katie  Pierce,  Grinstead,  Volante,  Salvator 
and  hundreds  of  others. 

Another  great  mare  was  Brittania  IV,  by  Muley,  own 
sister  to  that  great  horse  Muley  Moloch,  out  of  Nancy  Long- 
waist,  by  Dick  Andrews,  by  Joe  Andrews,  by  O'Kelley's 
Eclipse.  She  produced  Verifier,  by  Imported  Belshazzer, 
Vandyke,  La  Variation,  Voucher  and  others,  nearly  all  of 
whom  were  great  performers.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
there  were  two  Brittanias.  This  one  was  by  Muley.  The 
other  was  by  The  Flying  Dutchman,  who  was  the  dam  of 
Madame  Dudley,  Brigand  and  The  Crown  Prince.  The 
latter  was  so  promising  as  a  two-year-old  that  he  was  taken 
to  England,  and  was  highly  thought  of  for  the  English 
Derby.  The  Brittania  by  The  Flying  Dutchman  was  a 
great  mare,  but  she  was  short  lived  and  had  but  few  foals. 
She  was  brought  to  this  country  by  the  Importing  Company 
of  Kentucky.  I  have  been  thus  explicit  in  order  to  avoid 
confusion. 

Probably  the  best  brood  mare  that  ever  lived  was  Pica- 
yune, out  of  Sallie  Howe,  by  William  of  Transport,  consid- 
ering the  injudicious  manner  in  which  she  was  bred.  Her 
first  foal  was  Ponette,  by  The  Poney,  and  the  latter  was  by 
Leviathan.  Her  next  foal  was  Ha'penny,  by  Birmingham, 
a  well-bred  stallion,  who  sired  Brown  Kitty  and  then  got  no 
more  that  proved  of  any  consequence.  Brown  Kitty  met 
and  defeated  Verifier  at  two  miles.      Ha'penny,  the  year 


44 

she  was  a  three-year-old,  at  New  Orleans,  met  and  defeated 
Jerry  Lancaster,  Red  Rover  and  Mary  Waller,  at  four-mile 
heats,  in  three  heats  over  the  Metaire  course.  Picayune's 
next  foal  was  the  fleet  little  Miss  Belle,  by  Frank. 

Her  next  foal  was  Doubloon,  by  Imported  Margrave. 
This  was  one  of  the  best  race  horses  of  any  time  and  any 
country.  Then  came  Florin,  a  full  brother  to  Doubloon. 
Duncan  Kenner  and  his  trainer.  Wash  Graves,  thought 
Florin  was  the  best  horse  ever  bred  in  America.  The  winter 
he  was  five  years  old  they  started  him  fourteen  times.  He 
won  thirteen  races.  He  started  in  the  fourteenth  and  won 
the  first  heat  from  Charmer  and  Bettie  Oliver.  Then  he 
dropped  down  and  died  on  the  track  before  the  time  to  start 
for  the  second  heat.     He  had  ruptured  a  blood  vessel. 

The  next  foal  of  Picayune  was  Louis  d'Orr,  by  Imported 
Sarpedon.  Caroline,  by  Yorkshire,  followed.  This  filly 
was  crippled  on  an  ice  pond  as  a  yearling  and  was  never 
trained.  However,  she  proved  a  good  brood  mare.  Then 
came  to  Picayune  Moidore,  by  Imported  Yorkshire,  an  ani- 
mal of  some  note.  About  this  time  Lindora,  by  Lexington, 
put  in  an  appearance.  She  was  a  good  race  mare.  The 
next  foal  was  Sherrod,  by  Le  Compte,  one  of  the  best  race 
horses  of  the  country.  A  full  brother  to  Lindora  was  sold 
to  Judge  John  Hunter,  of  Mobile,  Ala.,  and  was  trained  as  a 
two-year-old.  But  the  Civil  War  broke  out  and  the  colt  was 
stolen  and  was  never  heard  of  again.  He  is  supposed  to 
have  been  ridden  away  by  a  bushwhacker  from  one  of  the 
armies. 

Picayune  went  to  the  stud  twenty-three  times  and 
brought  forth  twenty-two  live  colts.  She  died  in  foal  to 
Uncle  Vic. 

The  great  Reel,  by  Imported  Glencoe,  out  of  Imported 
Galopade,  by  Catton,  was  bred  by  Jeff  Wells,  of  Louisiana, 
and  was  one  of  the  best  race  mares  of  her  day.  She  was 
equally  as  distinguished  as  a  brood  mare,  having  produced 
Le  Compte,  by  Boston  (the  only  horse  that  ever  beat  Lex- 
ington), Stark,  Prioress,  Ann  Dunn,  Uncle  Jeff,  Calvert  and 
Capt.  Elgie,  all  of  whom  were  winners,  some  of  them  in 
England. 

Magnolia,  by  Glencoe,  dam  Imported  Myrtle,  by  Eng- 
lish Marma  Luke,  enjoyed  distinction.     She  produced  the 


45 

three  great  brothers,  Kentucky,  Daniel  Boones,  and  Gilroy, 
Skeedaddle,  Princeton,  Magic,  Madonna,  Sly  Boots  and 
others. 

Then  it  will  not  do  to  overlook  Sarah  Washington,  by 
Garrison's  Zinganee,  who  produced  Nat  Pope,  by  Pamonk^^ ; 
Inspector,  by  Boston ;  Sue  Washington,  by  Revenue  ;  Fannie 
Washington,  by  Revenue,  and  Ninnette,  by  Imported 
Eclipse.  The  breeders  of  Virginia  considered  Sarah  Wash- 
ington the  best  brood  mare  of  her  day. 

In  closing  I  will  mention  Blinky,  by  Muckle  John,  who 
produced  Josh,  Bob  Snell,  The  Dutchman,  Shavetail,  Viley 
and  Little  Flea,  all  by  Grey  Eagle,  the  son  of  Woodpecker 
and  grand-uncle  of  the  great  Hanover. 

In  spite  of  the  claim  made  by  the  English  that  their 
horses  are  the  best  bred  in  the  world,  I  contend  that  the 
grandest  horses  the  world  has  ever  known  first  saw  the 
light  in  America  and  that  their  blood  is  that  of  Sir  Archie 
and  his  descendants,  commingled  with  that  of  Glencoe. 

Sir  Archie  was  by  Diomed,  out  of  Castiamra,  by  Rock- 
ingham. The  best  of  his  get  was  Timoleon,  who  got 
Boston,  and  the  latter  got  Lexington.  Sir  Archie  also  got 
Sumpter,  who  left  a  race  of  daughters  that  perpetuated  his 
fame ;  Bertrand,  who  was  a  grand  race  horse  and  left  a 
famous  race  of  broodmares  ;  Sir  Charles,  the  sire  of  Wag- 
ner and  Bonnets  of  Blue ;  Sir  William  of  Transport,  whose 
daughters  are  well  known  to  fame,  and  a  multitude  of 
others,  nearly  all  of  whom  achieved  greatness  on  the  turf. 

The  Sumpter  mares  have  produced  the  best  horses  in 
the  world  by  all  classes  of  stallions,  among  which  might  be 
mentioned  Rowena,  grandam  of  Lexington  ;  Cherry  Elliott, 
dam  of  Tangent;  Yarrico,  dam  of  Nannie  Rhodes;  Ann 
Mary,  dam  of  Cub  and  grandam  of  Wild  Irishman,  Frank- 
fort, Fanny  Fern  and  Fannie  Campbell.  The  Bertrand 
mares  got  such  notables  as  Blue  Bonnet,  Lightning,  Lode- 
stone,  Thunder,  Little  Arthur,  who  trace  back  on  their 
maternal  side  to  Gray  Fannie ;  Queen  Mary,  dam  of  Red 
Eye  the  First ;  Quiz,  dam  of  Nantura,  grandam  of  Long- 
fellow and  great-grandam  of  Ten  Broeck ;  Isola,  dam 
of  Olio,  and  Miss  Chester. 

The  Medoc  mares  trace  back  to  this  source  of  blood, 
but  they  are  now  extinct.     They  produced  many  good  per- 


46 

formers,  however.     In  every  strain  they  perpetuated  their 
fame. 

The  Lexington  mares,  who  are  also  now  extinct,  but 
whose  daughters  survive  and  are  adding  every  year  to  the 
fame  of  the  grand  old  sire,  were  gold  mines  to  their  owners. 
They  produced  such  superb  performers  as  Idlewild,  Fellow- 
craft,  Rutherford,  Spendthrift,  Miser,  Artistides  (out  of 
Sarong),  Enquirer  (out  of  Eliza),  Hamburg,  Hira  (dam  of 
Himyar,  who  was  the  size  of  Domino),  The  Banshee  (dam 
of  Krupp  Gun),  Maiden  (dam  of  Parole,  Pawnee,  James  A), 
La  Henderson  (dam  of  Fireda  and  Aella).  Leamington's 
reputation  was  based  on  Lexington  mares,  except  in  two 
instances — Longfellow  and  Radamanthus. 

The  Glencoe  mares  were  in  a  class  by  themselves. 
Reel  produced  La  Compte  (the  only  horse  that  ever  beat 
Lexington),  Prioress,  Ann  Dunn,  Fannie  King,  grandam  of 
Brown  Dick ;  Charmer,  great  grandam  of  Marion,  who 
produced  Rey  del  Rey,  El  Rio  Rey,  Empress  of  Norfolk, 
The  Czar  and  Yo  Tambien,  who  with  Modesty  was  an 
American  Derby  winner ;  Fannie  Fern  (dam  of  Oli  Tippax) ; 
Volga  (dam  of  Barney  Williams) ;  Ann  Watson  (dam  of 
Rhinodine  and  Floride) ;  Peytona,  who  defeated  Fashion 
(dam  of  Transylvania);  Maroon  (Baltimore's  dam  and  also 
that  of  Richmond);  Topaz  (dam  of  Waterloo,  Austerlitz  and 
Lodi). 

Glencoe's  sons  also  rose  to  eminence.  Vandal  was 
probably  the  greatest.  He  sired  Virgil,  who  in  turn  sired 
the  celebrated  Hindoo,  and  the  latter  gave  to  the  racing 
world  Hanover.  Panic,  Rigadoon,  Union,  Rory  O' Moore, 
Little  Arthur  and  Highlander  all  attained  greatness  as  per- 
formers and  producers. 

The  War  Dance  mares  were  a  cross  between  the  Lex- 
ington and  the  Glencoe  strains,  and  no  mares  probably  pro- 
duced great  performers  with  such  consistency. 

The  claims  I  have  made  can  not  be  controverted.  This 
is  the  fleetest,  stoutest  and  best  strain  of  horses  ever  pro- 
duced. 


CHAPTER  VL 
How  I  Became  a  Turfman* 

Perhaps  the  story  of  how  I  came  to  be  a  turfman  and  to 
spend  the  best  days  of  my  life  as  a  rider,  trainer  and  owner 
may  not  be  uninteresting  at  this  juncture,  for  it  will  illus- 
trate clearly  to  young  men  who  contemplate  embarking  in 
the  business  the  trials  through  which  they  must  pass. 

I  was  born  in  the  city  of  Lexington,  at  the  corner  of 
Short  and  Cheapside,  June  5,  1827.  One  evening  when  I 
was  about  ten  years  of  age  I  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
Stephen  Welsh.  We  were  playing  hide  and  seek  in  the  old 
market  house  and  were  having  a  royal  time.  Welsh  and  I 
were  soon  fast  friends,  and  he  gained  such  an  ascendency 
over  me  that  on  the  following  morning  he  persuaded  me  to 
run  away  and  become  a  jockey.  I  wrapped  up  a  few  of  my 
belongings  in  a  piece  of  paper,  met  Welsh,  and  we  tramped 
down  the  old  Frankfort  road  to  Robert  Burbage's  stock  farm 
and  training  stables  near  the  Forks  of  Elkhorn. 

I  told  Mr.  Burbage  that  my  parents  had  sent  me  out  to 
secure  work  and  make  a  living.  At  first  he  was  disinclined 
to  credit  my  story,  but  I  clung  to  my  statement  and  could 
not  be  shaken  in  the  recital.  Mr.  Burbage  saw  I  was  of 
small  stature  and  that  there  was  some  promise  in  me  as  a 
jockey,  concluded  to  give  me  a  chance  to  show  what  was  in 
me,  and  that  in  the  meantime  he  would  investigate  the  truth- 
fulness of  my  story. 

To  test  my  courage,  the  next  day  he  put  me  to  walking 
a  horse  called  Whipster  around  the  ring  with  the  other 
boys.  The  animal  began  jumping  and  plunging,  but  I  was 
not  abashed  and  laughed  and  held  to  him.  A  negro  groom 
called  Harry  Lewis,  who  afterward  became  distinguished  as 
the  trainer  of  Lexington,  told  Mrs.  Burbage  at  dinner 
that  day  that  he  felt  sure  the  stable  had  obtained  a  jewel. 
He  said  I  was  a  natural  born  rider,  and  even  then  he  was 
convinced  I  was  the  best  boy  in  the  stable.  Welsh,  who 
induced  me  to  run  away  from  home,  rode  Gray  Eagle  in  his 
races  with  Wagner  and  became  a  famous  jockey. 


48 

I  was  put  right  on  from  walking  to  galloping  horses, 
and  the  first  animal  I  ever  bestrode  was  the  vicious  Whip- 
ster. My  mother,  in  the  meantime,  had  ascertained  my 
whereabouts  and  had  written  Mr.  Burbage.  She  said  if  1 
was  satisfied  and  was  willing  to  adopt  riding  as  a  profession 
I  might  remain  until  the  racing  in  the  fall,  at  which  time  she 
would  see  him  and  confer  further  concerning  my  future 
career. 

The  next  spring  I  left  Mr.  Burbage  and  went  to  White 
Sulphur  Springs,  Scott  county,  where  I  secured  employment 
at  exercising  with  James  Fenwick,  a  noted  breeder  of  that 
day.  He  bred  Quiz,  the  grandam  of  Longfellow,  and  her 
sister.  Queen  Mary,  besides  a  host  of  other  celebrities.  I  re- 
mained there  three  years,  and  frequently  galloped  Quiz.  In 
this  connection  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to 
my  previous  statement  that  breeding  is  a  lottery.  Quiz  was 
of  no  earthly  account  as  a  performer,  while  her  sister  was 
considered  good  enough  to  run  against  Gray  Eagle,  Wagner 
or  any  others  of  her  day.  But  she  produced  Nantura,  who 
was  the  dam  of  Longfellow.  Queen  Mary  gave  to  the  world 
the  first  Red  Eye,  by  imp.  Sarpedan. 

In  those  days  the  stable  boys  slept  at  the  house  and  were 
treated  as  members  of  the  family.  I  had  few  privations  and 
got  along  well  with  the  trainers  and  grooms.  Everybody 
seemed  to  take  an  interest  in  me,  probably  on  account  of  my 
small  size  and  my  precocity,  for  even  then  I  was  a  close  ob- 
server. 

I  left  Mr.  Fenwick  in  1842  and  became  attached  to  the 
stable  of  the  famous  Jim  Shy.  He  lived  on  the  race  track 
at  Lexington  and  had  Theatrus,  The  Splotch  Mare  and  a 
half  dozen  others  in  training  there,  including  Rothschild, 
with  whom  he  won  the  two  most  important  stakes  at  the 
meeting  that  year.  There  I  remained  for  a  number  of  years 
and  got  my  first  mount  as  a  jockey. 

Mr.  Shy  had  promised  me  for  weeks  before  that  he 
would  give  me  a  chance,  and  I  looked  forward  to  the  time 
I  should  sit  in  the  saddle  and  ride  a  sure  enough  race  with  a 
great  deal  of  eagerness.  Finally,  the  eventful  day  arrived. 
I  cared  little  for  the  class  of  the  horse  I  was  to  be  on.  All  I 
wanted  then  was  to  ride.  They  put  me  on  a  mare  named 
Pinderella,  by  Monmouth  Eclipse.    She  was  of  ordinary  call- 


49 

ber,  and  I  did  my  best,  but  could  do  no  better  than  finish 
third  in  the  race.     The  next  time  out  I  also  lost. 

But  the  third  time  I  showed  them  who  laid  the  rail.  I 
was  on  a  horse  belonging-  to  a  man  named  Sherley,  who  had 
a  stock  farm  near  Louisville.  The  colt  was  by  imp.  Margrave 
and  was  called  Martinet.  It  was  over  the  old  Oakland 
course,  and  there  were  eight  or  nine  starters.  We  got  off 
well  together  at  the  tap  of  the  drum.  I  was  instructed  to 
trail  till  I  came  to  the  head  of  the  stretch.  I  kept  within 
distance  of  the  leading  horse  for  three-quarters  of  a  mile. 
Then  I  pulled  a  little  wide  and  came  on  home  winner  of  the 
heat  with  comparative  ease. 

Paddy  Burns,  of  Frankfort,  a  famous  Bluegrass  plunger, 
who  had  backed  my  mount  for  the  heat,  approached  me  and 
handed  me  three  sovereigns.  It  was  my  first  fee  and  I  w^as 
anxious  to  distinguish  myself  by  winning  the  race.  I  was 
instructed  to  lay  up  the  next  heat  unless  I  got  off  well,  and 
as  I  did  not  do  so  I  lost  the  heat.  The  third  heat  my  horse 
had  cooled  off  and  rested  well.  At  the  tap  of  the  drum  I 
went  to  the  front,  and  with  a  good  swinging  pull  all  the  way 
I  maintained  the  lead. 

Burns  was  again  backing  me,  and  the  next  day  he  took 
me  down  town  and  bought  me  two  good  suits  of  clothes  and 
gave  me  a  twenty-dollar  bill.  It  was  the  first  large  amount 
of  money  I  had  ever  possessed  and  I  had  no  pocketbook. 
I  was  terribly  afraid  I  would  lose  the  money,  and  I  tied 
it  up  in  one  corner  of  the  tail  of  my  shirt.  It  reached  home 
with  me  safely  and  I  turned  it  over  to  Mrs.  Shy  with  in- 
structions to  keep  it  for  me.  This  happened  in  about  1845. 
Shy  was  very  unlucky  with  his  horses  and  race  after  race 
he  entered  and  lost  by  the  worst  kind  of  luck.  It  was  the 
talk  of  all  the  tracks,  and  there  was  not  a  man  but  felt 
sorry  for  him.  Being  a  man  of  but  limited  means,  it  was 
predicted  that  his  turf  career  would  soon  have  to  close  as 
far  as  ownership  was  concerned.  But  the  tide  turned.  Dal- 
las, by  Robinson,  out  of  Theatrus,  was  entered  in  a  race  about 
1846  at  Lexington  for  the  three  best  in  five  heats.  I  had 
the  mount  and  won  the  race  in  four  heats,  losing  the  third. 

Then  originated  the  famous  saying  that  is  now  a  familiar 
one  all  over  the  South — "  Shy  won  a  heat.''  You  may  hear 
it  in  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Tennessee,  Virginia,  Louisiana,  and 


5° 

even  in  tlie  far  East.  I  won  the  heat  for  Shy  and  brought 
him  the  first  pleasant  smile  he  had  had  for  many  a  day  from 
the  fickle  goddess. 

I  severed  my  connection  with  Shy  the  following  year, 
and  when  Richard  Ten  Broeck  was  organizing  a  stable  to 
make  a  tour  through  Canada  I  went  with  him  as  his  chief 
jockey.  We  landed  at  Toronto,  and  in  due  course  of  time 
the  trainer  had  the  horses  in  shape  for  active  work. 

We  swept  everything  before  us  and  won  all  the  races  in 
which  our  horses  were  entered.  Finally  we  came  to  Quebec 
at  the  Queen's  course  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham.  There  we 
arranged  a  killing,  and  we  certainly  made  it.  I  was  on  Sallie 
Ward  (a  mare  by  John  R.  Grimes)  in  a  three-mile  heat  race. 
The  only  contender  was  Grace  Darling,  although  there  were 
several  others  in  it. 

I  landed  the  first  heat  with  Sallie  Ward,  and  Grace  Dar 
lino-  captured  the  second  ;  but  I  knew  all  the  time  that  the 
o-ame  little  Kentucky  mare  was  the  better  of  the  two.  Mr. 
Ten  Broeck  was  anxious  to  win  as  much  as  possible  on  the 
race,  but,  as  Grace  Darling  was  a  noted  mare  and  had  lost 
but  few  if  any  races  that  year,  he  was  doubtful.  In  conse- 
quence, he  arranged  with  me  that  he  was  not  to  make  a  bet 
until  I  showed  him  conclusively  that  we  had  the  race  well  in 

hand. 

Lord  Parish  owned  Grace  Darling,  and  up  to  that  time 
she  had  never  lost  a  race  where  the  heats  were  broken. 
After  I  had  won  the  first  heat  Mr.  Ten  Broeck  asked  me 
what  I  thought  of  the  prospect  for  winning.  I  told  him  it 
was  good. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  if  you  see  you  can  win  lay  up  the 
next  heat,  but  raise  your  cap  after  two  and  one-half  miles 
have  been  run  to  let  me  know  you  are  sure  of  your  game." 

In  the  meantime  he  was  sitting  by  the  side  of  Lord  Par- 
ish in  the  grand  stand,  watching  the  race.  As  in  the  first 
heat,  I  laid  close  behind  Grace  Darling  all  the  way.  At  the 
two  miles  I  shook  up  my  horse  a  little,  and  she  responded  so 
liberally  that  I  knew  she  had  lots  of  speed  in  reserve,  and 
would  be  there  when  it  was  necessary  to  deliver  the  goods. 
On  we  went  around  the  turn,  and  at  the  point  agreed  upon  I 
again  called  on  her.  As  before,  she  was  full  of  run,  and  I 
raised  my  hand  to  my  cap  as  if  it  were  falling  off. 


51 

Mr.  Ten  Broeck  had  so  much  confidence  in  my  judg- 
ment that  he  wagered  $25,000  with  Lord  Parish  that  Sal  lie 
Ward  would  win  the  next  heat.  Now,  as  I  have  said,  Grace 
Darling  had  never  lost  a  race  where  the  heats  were  broken- 
for  the  reason  that  she  had  wonderful  powers  of  endurance. 
The  Britisher  was  so  confident  that  his  mare  would  win  that 
he  readily  put  up  the  money,  and  he  went  further  and  agreed 
to  bet  his  famous  mare  Gipsy,  a  full  sister  to  Medoc,  on  the 
result.  Mr.  Ten  Broeck  was  only  too  delighted  at  this  prop- 
osition, for  he  had  long  been  trying  to  buy  Gipsy,  believing 
her  to  be  a  comer. 

For  the  last  and  deciding  heat  we  got  oflf  evenly,  and  I 
let  Grace  Darling  get  in  the  lead.  I  was  never  far  away, 
though,  and  always  had  her  at  my  mercy.  On  we  went  with 
the  speed  of  the  wind.  Grace  Darling  was  pressed  to  her 
utmost,  and  was  doing  her  level  best  at  every  stride.  On  the 
other  hand,  I  was  holding  my  horse  in  reserve.  Lord  Parish 
thought  he  had  won  and  his  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles,  for 
he  saw  himself  the  winner  of  about  $50,000.  He  informed 
Mr.  Ten  Broeck  that  it  was  all  over  but  the  shouting,  and  he 
and  his  friends  joked  about  the  matter.  But  I  was  on  Sallie 
Ward,  and  I  had  not  called  on  her  for  the  supreme  burst  of 
speed  that  I  knew  she  had  concealed  in  her  graceful  little 
legs. 

We  were  on  the  last  quarter.  Grace  Darling  was  lead- 
ing still,  but  every  nerve  was  in  play  and  she  was  at  her  best. 
I  smiled  and  shook  the  rein  a  trifle.  Sallie  Ward  moved  up 
quickly.  I  was  at  her  flanks  ;  then  at  her  saddle  girths ;  then 
we  were  on  even  terms ;  then  Sallie  Ward's  pretty  head  was 
shoved  in  front  of  that  of  the  British  horse.  A  low  cluck 
urged  her  on,  and  fast  and  faster  flew  her  nimble  feet.  I 
was  a  length  ahead,  and  when  we  passed  under  the  wire 
there  was  daylight  between  us.  I  had  won  the  greatest  race 
ever  seen  on  a  Canadian  track. 

An  Irishman,  who  had  been  following  us  through  the 
country  and  winning  on  our  starters,  bet  we  would  win  the 
first  heat.  Before  the  second  he  came  to  me  in  the  paddock 
and  asked  me  what  I  would  do  in  the  second.  I  told  him  I 
hardly  thought  we  would  win.  With  this  tip  he  bet  his 
money  on  the  British  horse.  Of  course,  he  won.  Then,  in- 
stead of  coming  to  me  and  getting  another  tip  for  the  third, 


52 

he  was  satisfied  that  Grace  Darling  would  win  and  put  up 
everything  he  had  on  Grace  Darling.  He  sent  $2,000  with 
someone  and  wagered  it  with  Mr.  Ten  Broeck. 

As  I  dismounted,  after  winning  the  third  and  concluding 
heat,  he  approached  me  and  in  the  presence  of  a  large  crowd 
said  : 

"  You  blue-bellied  Yankees  would  rob  St.  Peter  of  the 
throne  if  Jesus  Christ  didn't  lock  it  up  every  night  and  hide 
the  key." 

"  You  lost,"  said  I,  "  because  you  didn't  come  back  for 
the  third  tip.  I  told  you  the  truth  twice  and  you  ought  to 
have  trusted  me  the  third  time." 

When  we  returned  to  Kentucky  I  left  Mr.  Ten  Broeck 
and  went  back  to  Shy.  In  the  stable  of  the  latter  at  that 
time  was  the  afterward  famous  race  horse  Doubloon,  by  imp. 
Margrave,  out  of  Picayune  He  was  then  a  two-year  old, 
but  he  showed  evidences  of  wonderful  speed.  It  was  decided 
to  simply  jog  him  along  and  not  put  him  to  the  test  until  he 
became  a  three-year  old,  when  his  muscles  would  be  hard- 
ened and  his  lithe  body  developed.  I  exercised  him  all  that 
season,  and  when  the  meeting  opened  at  Lexington  the  fol- 
lowing spring  I  was  selected  to  ride  him.  The  first  race  we 
won  was  the  Phoenix  Hotel  Stakes  at  mile  heats,  and  he 
landed  both  of  them  easily.  The  Citizens  Stakes  was  the 
next  race  in  which  he  was  entered.  There  he  again  showed 
his  superiority,  and  I  brought  him  first  under  the  wire.  By 
this  time  we  realized  there  was  a  very  great  horse  in  our 
stable. 

Returning  to  Louisville,  we  won  the  Gait  House  Stakes 
without  any  trouble.  Mr.  James  A.  Grinstead,  his  owner, 
sold  him  to  William  Greer,  of  Dover,  Mason  County,  Ky., 
for  $1,500.  At  this  time  such  a  horse  would  have  readily 
brought  $100,000.  For  his  new  owner  Doubloon  won  many 
thousands  of  dollars,  but  he  in  turn  became  doubtful  of  his 
lasting  qualities  and  sold  him  to  a  Polander  named  Skiman- 
sky.  The  latter  showed  his  wisdom  in  making  the  purchase 
by  taking  him  to  New  Orleans,  where  his  winnings  flowed 
in  a  golden  stream  into  the  coffers  of  the  foreigner.  Doub- 
loon was  never  placed  in  the  stud,  and  died  in  Missouri 
about  1865. 

By  this  time  I  had  become  a  trainer  and  formed  a  part- 


53 

nership  with  Edward  Eagle.  We  opened  a  public  stable  and 
trained  many  high-class  horses,  including  Goodwood,  Ice- 
burg,  Vesuvius  and  Ella  D.,  the  grandam  of  Hanover.  I 
consider  her  to  have  been  every  whit  as  good  as  her  grand- 
son, and  she  was  certainly  a  mighty  queen  of  the  turf. 

Goodwood  was  by  Lexington  out  of  Evergreen,  by  imp. 
Glencoe,  and  was  owned  by  Col.  John  R.  Viley,  of  Lexing- 
ton. Ben  Pryor,  a  trainer,  of  Natchez,  Miss.,  had  the  horse 
as  a  two  and  three-year-old,  and  he  sent  him  back  to  Col. 
Viley,  saying  there  was  nothing  in  him,  and  that  he  could 
never  win  enough  to  pay  his  feed  bill.  When  I  separated 
from  Eagle  and  went  into  business  for  myself  Col.  Viley 
came  to  me  and  suggested  that  I  take  the  horse  on  shares. 
I  thought  over  the  proposition  and  concluded  to  take  the 
chance.  At  that  time,  perhaps,  I  was  about  the  only  man  in 
Kentucky  who  thought  there  was  anything  in  this  handsome 
son  of  Lexington. 

I  gave  him  a  careful  training  till  the  springtime  came, 
and  then  I  took  him  to  Louisville.  First  I  put  him  in  a  race 
with  a  number  of  others  just  as  a  trial.  There  was  some 
interference  with  Goodwood  during  the  race  and  he  lost  to 
Sherrod.  I  was  somewhat  disappointed  at  his  failure  to  win, 
for  I  had  had  great  confidence  in  his  ability.  I  was  not 
discouraged,  however,  and,  returning  to  Lexington,  I  trained 
him  again  for  the  meeting  there.  This  time  his  success  was 
beyond  my  fondest  expectations.  He  met  Black  Rebel, 
Lila,  Starlight,  Joe  Stoner  and  other  noted  horses  at  two- 
mile  heats,  winning  handily.  Three  days  later  he  was  in  a 
race  with  the  mighty  Colossus  and  several  others.  He  won 
two  straights  without  an  effort,  and  was  never  extended. 
By  this  time  his  fame  was  established,  and  the  Pryor  castoff 
was  sold  to  Judge  Hunter  for  $10,000  that  night.  Mr.  Ten 
Broeck  was  arranging  to  go  to  England  for  a  campaign,  and 
he  offered  Judge  Hunter  $10,000,  the  price  he  had  paid  for 
the  horse,  for  his  running  qualities. 

"  Why,"  said  Judge  Hunter,  proudly,  "  $10,000  wouldn't 
buy  a  hair  in  that  horse's  tail." 

Mr.  Ten  Broeck  was  so  impressed  with  the  perform- 
ances of  Goodwood  that  he  afterward  bought  his  full  sister, 
Myrtle,  and  took  her  to  England.  There  she  was  entered 
in  the  rich  Czarowitch  Stakes,  and  in  a  field  of  thirty-nine  of 
the  best-blooded  animals  of  old  England  she  finished  second. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Won  Every  Stake. 

I  moved  to  Missouri  in  1862,  bringing  with  me  Creigh- 
ton,  the  last  colt  of  imp.  Glencoe,  a  full  brother  to  Blonde 
and  Maroon,  and  Ada  Kennett.  James  K.  Duke,  an  exten- 
sive breeder,  of  Kentucky,  had  died  a  short  time  previously, 
and  I  had  been  engaged  to  take  charge  of  his  horses.  This 
I  did,  and  I  considered  that  I  could  obtain  better  prices  for 
them  if  I  raced  and  sold  them  in  Missouri. 

I  won  every  stake  in  Missouri  that  year  with  Ada  Ken- 
nett, and  Creighton  more  than  paid  for  his  keep. 

Having  nothing  to  keep  me  longer  in  Missouri  after  the 
horses  were  sold  at  the  end  of  the  season,  I  returned  to 
Lexington.  At  a  public  sale  there  I  purchased  ten  or  twelve 
horses  for  Benjamin  Hutchinson,  a  breeder,  of  Missouri. 
Among  them  were  Lilac,  who  afterward  produced  Gray 
Cloud  and  many  other  celebrities,  and  Evangeline,  a  highly- 
bred  mare. 

Annie  Travis  was  also  in  the  string.  She  turned  out 
Tidal  Wave,  Athlene  and  a  host  of  others  noted  for  their 
speed.  Derby,  by  Eclipse  out  of  Lady  Taylor,  was  bought 
from  Rufus  Lyle,  who  acted  as  agent  for  Major  B.  G. 
Thomas,  and  sold  him  against  the  wishes  of  the  latter.  He 
defeated  Maiden,  the  dam  of  the  celebrated  Parole,  and  won 
nearly  all  the  other  stakes  at  St.  Louis. 

At  this  time  racing  and  breeding  were  at  a  very  low  ebb 
in  Missouri,  and  I  contend  that  I  am  practically  the  father  of 
racing  in  the  State.  I  did  everything  in  my  power  to  get 
people  interested  in  the  matter  by  inducing  them  to  pur- 
chase brood  mares  and  stallions.  It  was  slow  work  for  a 
time,  but  the  grand  results  that  are  to  be  observed  to-day 
are  a  monument  to  my  efforts.  The  old  Prairie  track  had 
been  abandoned  and  the  old  Abbey  was  on  its  last  legs.  I 
realized  that  something  had  to  be  done,  and  I  went  to  work 
with  a  will  to  have  a  new  track  established.  By  dint  of  per- 
suasion enough  gentlemen  were  interested  to  establish  the 


55 

Laclede  track,  named  in  honor  of  the  first  white  man  that 
explored  the  upper  Missouri  river. 

Here  there  was  brilliant  racing  for  a  number  of  years. 
Muggins,  Derby,  The  Banshee,  Pat  Maloy,  Ruth,  Planta- 
ganet,  Patrician  and  hundreds  of  other  horses  of  the  highest 
class  planted  their  dainty  hoofs  on  the  soil  of  this  course  and 
won  many  a  hard-fought  battle.  About  this  time  racing 
was  perfectly  honest  in  every  particular  in  Missouri,  and 
there  had  never  been  a  breath  of  suspicion  against  the  class 
of  the  sport.  But  soon  after  the  first  taint  was  manifested, 
and  gradually  the  blot  has  grown  upon  the  escutcheon  until 
everything  on  a  race  track  in  the  State  is  regarded  as  at 
least  worthy  of  close  investigation. 

One  of  the  most  peculiar  races  that  occurred  during  this 
period  was  between  The  Banshee,  Pat  Maloy  and  a  few 
others.  The  Banshee  was  in  my  stable  and  was  owned  by 
James  J.  O'Fallon  and  myself.  It  was  a  two-mile  heat  race, 
and  The  Banshee  stepped  out  and  won  the  first  heat  handily 
from  Pat  Maloy,  who  was  in  reality  the  only  contender  and 
the  one  I  feared  most.  I  told  my  jockey  to  drop  in  behind 
Pat  Maloy  and  jump  into  the  tracks  as  Maloy  dropped  out. 
Now,  Pat  Maloy  was  a  bald-faced  horse,  and,  as  ill  luck 
would  have  it,  there  was  another  bald-faced  horse  bearing  a 
striking  resemblance  to  him  in  the  race.  My  boy  was  never 
a  careful  observer  and  he  selected  as  the  horse  he  was  to 
beat  the  inferior  animal.  They  flew  around  the  track  with 
the  real  Pat  Maloy  in  the  lead  by  many  lengths,  but  my 
jockey  thought  it  was  the  scrub  horse  and  that  he  could 
easily  overtake  him  when  the  test  of  speed  arrived  down  the 
stretch.  He  hung  right  to  the  bogus  animal,  and  suddenly 
realizing  the  state  of  affairs,  I  sent  a  man  to  the  three-eighth 
pole  to  warn  the  boy.  He  did  so,  but  by  that  time  it  was  too 
late.  The  boy  made  a  gallant  effort,  and  was  only  beaten  by 
a  head  on  the  post. 

The  mare  was  high  in  flesh,  as  it  was  her  first  effort  of 
the  season,  and  she  could  not  stand  the  terrible  strain.  In 
consequence,  the  well-seasoned  Pat  Maloy  came  in  a  winner 
at  the  end  of  the  next  and  deciding  heat.  I  had  lost  through 
a  mistake. 

Plantaganet  belonged  to  Mr.  O'Fallon,  but  was  in  my 
stable.     He  started  in  a  race  with  the  great  Ruth  and  others. 


56 

It  was  a  three-mile-heat  affair.  Mr.  O'Fallon's  horse  was  con- 
sidered an  animal  of  no  speed  when  I  got  him,  but  I  had  him 
in  such  fine  shape  that  he  won  in  two  straight  heats.  A  re- 
markable feature  of  this  race  was  the  fact  that  Plantaganet 
ran  the  last  half  mile  of  the  second  heat  in  0:48)^. 

We  won  all  the  big  stakes  of  the  meeting  with  our 
horses,  and  then  went  to  Chicago,  where  I  won  two  big 
stakes  with  Plantaganet,  defeating  Blazewater  and  others. 
Two  other  stakes  fell  to  our  lot  through  the  medium  of 
Altavela.  She  was  a  two-year-old  at  that  time  and  was  a 
wonderful  filly.  Malacca  and  Mollie  Jones  were  easily  de- 
feated by  her,  and  she  could  have  carried  any  kind  of 
weight  and  won.  In  the  first  of  these  races  she  was  so  far 
ahead  that  she  stopped  and  turned  around  and  whinnied  like 
a  colt  for  its  mother.  A  stableman  who  was  standing  at  a 
gate  noticed  the  predicament  of  the  lad  on  the  filly's  back, 
and  he  ran  out  and  shooed  her  along.  At  that  she  ran  on  and 
won  by  forty  or  fifty  yards. 

That  same  week  we  put  The  Corsicanin  a  race  and  beat 
Moonlight,  a  grand  filly  of  the  year,  who  afterward  became 
noted  for  her  marvelous  performances.  The  Corsican  was 
my  individual  property,  but  I  sold  him  to  a  man  named 
Holland,  and  the  latter  raced  him  in  the  South,  winning 
many  stakes  and  purses.  Major  Thomas  G.  Bacon  was  his 
trainer  there  and  had  a  farm  at  Edgefield,  S.  C. 

At  Saratoga  The  Banshee  won  the  rich  Travis  Stake 
and  the  Filly  Stake.  Altavela  won  all  the  two-year-old  races 
there,  beating  Oakleaf,  who  had  won  all  the  stakes  of  this 
class  in  the  East  up  to  the  time  our  horses  arrived  at  the 
course.  I  would  have  won  a  three-mile  dash  with  Pat 
Maloy,  who  had  been  purchased  by  Mr.  O'Fallon,  but  for 
the  stupidity  of  my  rider.  He  was  seventy-five  yards  ahead 
of  James  A.  Connelly,  the  only  other  contender,  when  he 
suddenly  pulled  up,  for  no  reason  whatever,  and  the  latter 
won.  My  boy  deliberately  stopped  the  horse  and  took  him 
out  to  the  side  of  the  track.  Then  the  crowd  began  to  yell 
and  shout,  and  my  boy  concluded  to  take  another  chance. 
He  started  in  and  gave  Maloy  his  head.  Even  then,  with 
all  this  delay,  he  was  only  beaten  half  a  neck.  The  boy's 
mind  had  become  affected  through  the  severe  reducing  to 
make  the  weight,  and  this  accounts  for  his  strange  action. 


57 

At  that  time  I  probably  had  the  best  racing  stable  in  the 
world.  While  in  point  of  numbers  it  did  not  exceed  some 
others,  the  caliber  of  the  horses  was  better.  The  fame  of 
the  string  was  widespread  and  the  Missourians  were  anxious 
to  meet  me  on  my  return.  Several  owners  went  to  Ken- 
tucky and  bought  the  best  horses  that  were  obtainable  there. 
We  met  again  in  the  fall,  but  the  result  was  the  same.  Once 
more  they  fell  victims  to  the  superior  speed  and  handling  of 
the  Davis-O'Fallon  string. 

Gen.  Woodford  was  a  noted  horse  in  Kentucky,  and 
Charles  L.  Hunt  and  James  Loop  paid  $7,000  for  him,  be- 
lieving he  could  take  the  measure  of  the  mighty  Plantaganet. 
He  was  the  chief  contender  against  our  horse  in  the  two  big 
stakes,  but  we  had  no  trouble  in  disposing  of  him  in  easy 
style.  The  Banshee  swept  the  three-year-old  platter  and 
Altavela  attended  to  all  the  business  in  the  two-year-old  line 
with  scarcely  an  effort.  By  this  time  it  was  considered  that 
our  string  was  almost  invincible.  There  was  no  one  who 
could  beat  us  and  we  seldom  lost  anything  after  which  we 
went. 

At  New  Orleans  the  same  fall  The  Banshee  represented 
us  in  the  three-year-old  stakes  over  the  old  Metaire  Course, 
which,  by  the  wa)'',  is  now  a  cemetery,  having  been  donated 
for  that  purpose  by  Colonel  Howard,  a  lottery  king,  who 
had  been  blackballed  when  he  applied  for  membership  to  the 
jockey  club.  To  avenge  himself  for  the  slight  placed  upon 
him  he  purchased  the  course  and  gave  it  to  the  city  for  a 
cemetery.  Milk-white  tombstones  now  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  feet  of  flying  horses,  and  the  touts  who  are  seen  there 
are  poor  fellows  who  have  come  to  visit  the  graves  of  de- 
parted relatives. 

There  The  Banshee  brought  sorrow  to  the  stable.  She 
was  defeated  by  Locust  Post  in  a  dash  of  a  mile,  but  at  that 
she  only  lost  by  a  head.  Two  days  later  she  redeemed  her- 
self by  beating  the  same  horse,  Gen.  Ewell  and  Bayonet  in  a 
two-mile-heat  race.  Both  heats  fell  to  her,  and  at  no  time 
during  the  race  did  any  horse  reach  her  side.  The  rider  was 
determined  to  win. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  the  same  week  Plantaganet  de- 
feated Bayonet,  Gilroyand  others  in  a  three-mile-heat  event, 
winning  two  heats  and  stamping  him  as  a  wonderful  per- 


S8 

former.  I  laid  up  the  first  heat  and  let  Bayonet  and  Gilroy 
fight  it  out  to  a  dead  heat.  Then  when  the  second  came  I 
had  a  fresh  horse.  My  jockey  was  told  to  go  in  and  win,  as 
the  others  were  tired  and  at  his  mercy.  He  followed  in- 
structions and  had  not  the  slightest  trouble  in  winning. 

In  the  spring,  at  the  same  place,  we  met  with  similar 
success,  winning  all  the  big  stakes. 

Later,  at  Jerome  Park,  the  same  season,  I  won  the 
American  Jockey  Club  Handicap  with  Plantaganet,  worth 
$8,500,  giving  Abdul  Kadir,  one  of  the  best  four-year-olds  of 
the  season,  twenty  pounds.  Hardy  Durham,  who  had  the 
mount  on  Plantaganet,  waved  his  hat  at  a  girl  in  the  grand 
stand,  and  Abdul  Kadir  crept  up  and  made  a  dead  heat  on 
account  of  the  carelessness  of  Durham.  But  he  afterward 
paid  more  attention  to  what  he  was  doing  and  won  the  race. 
This  was  certamly  a  grand  performance  for  the  horse,  con- 
sidering that  he  carried  the  twenty-pound  impost  and  was 
running  over  one  of  the  worst  tracks  the  country  ever  had. 

But  it  was  due  to  a  little  piece  of  diplomacy  on  my  part 
that  I  won,  for  Plantaganet  would  never  have  been  able  to 
have  won  without  the  rest  necessary.  Therefore,  I  per- 
suaded the  judges  to  run  another  race  between  the  heats. 
This  was  done  and  Plantaganet  came  out  for  the  heat  in 
splendid  condition. 

The  next  day  The  Banshee  won  the  Jerome  Park  Cup 
race,  worth  about  $7,000,  from  a  big  field  of  the  best  horses 
of  the  day.  In  the  race  were  Pleasureville,  Judge  Curtis 
(formerly  Gen.  Duke)  and  Voxhall,  and  they  were  certainly 
of  the  highest  class. 

Saratoga  also  yielded  up  her  golden  treasures  to  the 
celebrated  Davis-O'Fallon  string,  but  by  that  time  our 
horses  were  worn  out  from  the  strain  that  had  been  put 
upon  them.  They  had  raced  from  the  South  to  the  North 
and  back  again,  and  we  were  compelled  to  retire  many  of 
them  to  the  stud. 

Two  years  later  the  get  of  the  famous  Pat  Maloy  came 
to  the  front.  They  were  Ozark,  Gen.  Harney,  Lilly  Belle 
and  Athlene,  with  a  few  others.  I  took  them  to  Long 
Branch,  and  there  with  Ozark  I  defeated  Aristides,  the  win- 
ner of  the  first  Kentucky  Derby  ;  Calvin,  Tom  Ochiltree, 
and  all  the  distinguished  three-year-olds  of  the  year.      So 


59 

carefully  had  I  hidden  the  condition  of  my  horse  from  the 
outside  world  that  he  always  went  to  the  post  a  rank  out- 
sider. When  Ozark  met  Aristides  the  first  time  any  book- 
maker would  have  permitted  you  to  write  your  own  ticket, 
for  he  seemed  to  have  so  little  chance. 

Ozark  annexed  the  Kenner  Stakes  at  Saratoga  that  year. 
He  ran  in  another  stake  against  the  famous  d'Artignan  and 
clearly  defeated  the  latter,  but  the  judges  prevailed  upon  me 
to  agree  that  it  was  a  dead  heat  and  divided  the  money  with 
McDonald,  the  owner  of  d'Artignan.  They  urged  that  he 
was  a  poor  man  and  that  the  loss  of  that  stake  would  drive 
him  from  the  turf.  That  is  the  sole  reason  I  consented.  My 
horse  won  the  race,  though,  and  I  could  have  had  it  had  I 
insisted.  However,  I  wished  to  give  McDonald  a  chance. 
Just  now  I  would  like  to  ask  the  question :  "  How  many  of 
the  men  of  to-day  would  have  done  as  I  did?" 

Ozark  lost  a  race  at  Baltimore,  but  when  he  went  up  to 
Washington  he  redeemed  himself,  winning  a  novelty  race  of 
four  miles.  The  conditions  were  that  the  horse  leading  at 
the  half  won  $400  and  the  mile  $800.  These  conditions  pre- 
vailed for  each  mile.  My  horse  took  the  lead  at  the  jump 
and  was  never  headed.  The  famous  Nettie  Norton,  who  had 
just  run  four  miles  at  Baltimore  in  7:23,  was  the  nearest  to 
him,  and  she  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  off  at  the  finish.  The 
track  was  in  frightful  shape,  but  had  the  race  been  run  over 
a  good  course  I  am  satisfied  it  would  have  been  done  in  7:10. 
Ozark  that  day  could  have  beaten  every  horse  ever  bred  in 
the  world.  Madge,  Joe  Cerns,  First  Chance,  Jack  Harkaway 
and  all  the  others  had  records,  but  they  were  never  able  to 
get  within  hailing  distance  of  the  brown  son  of  Pat  Maloy 
and  imp.  Sunny  South. 

After  this  meeting  I  sold  Ozark  to  an  Omaha  man  for 
$4,500.  Such  a  horse  to-day  would  bring  $25,000.  His  new 
owner  took  him  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  he  was  beaten 
once.  At  Savannah  he  met  the  same  horse  under  similar 
conditions  and  won  handily.  He  broke  down  at  Nashville 
and  never  ran  a  race  afterward. 

I  sold  Gen.  Harney  to  William  Lakeland  at  New  Or- 
leans for  $2,500,  and  this  virtually  broke  up  my  string,  as  I 
had  but  Athlene  and  Lilly  Belle  left. 


6o 

At  the  beginning  of  the  following  season  I  organized  a 
stable  of  my  own  and  made  a  campaign  through  Montana.  I 
had  John  Baker  and  Premium,  and  both  of  them  were  of  the 
highest  class.  John  Baker  could  run  a  mile  in  1:40  or  better, 
and  was  a  grand  plater,  while  Premium  had  phenomenal 
speed.  Realizing  that  the  people  of  the  far  West  would  not 
take  kindly  to  me  if  they  came  to  understand  that  my  sole 
object  in  going  there  was  for  the  purpose  of  making  money 
and  carrying  it  away  from  the  State,  I  thought  I  would  be 
more  successful  if  I  made  them  believe  I  intended  to  locate 
there.  I  inspected  several  ranches  and  pretended  that  I  was 
anxious  to  buy.  There  was  hardly  a  man  in  the  State  that 
did  not  make  me  some  kind  of  an  offer,  for  they  all  seemed 
anxious  to  get  away  themselves. 

They  began  to  smell  a  mouse  when,  after  the  races  began, 
I  annexed  nearly  every  purse  and  stake  with  the  good  horses 
I  had  brought  out  there  for  the  purpose.  I  did  not  lose  a  race 
in  which  I  had  a  starter.  But  they  finally  caught  on  and  began 
to  make  life  miserable  for  me.  One  of  the  worst  frauds  they 
attempted  to  practice  upon  me  was  by  the  withdrawal  of  a 
horse  in  one  of  the  stake  events,  thus  lessening  the  amount 
at  least  $1,000.  Of  course,  my  Kentucky  blood  would  not 
permit  me  to  stand  for  this,  and  I  entered  a  vigorous  pro- 
test, asking  to  be  permitted  to  read  the  rules,  which,  by  the 
way,  I  had  helped  draft.  This  was  refused,  and  I  mounted 
a  picket  fence  near  the  stand.  The  vast  crowd  that  filled  the 
grand  stand  gathered  about  me,  all  eager  to  hear  what  I  had 
to  say.  It  was  composed  of  the  beauty  and  chivalry  of  the 
great  Copper  State. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  I  said,  "  these  rules  cover  the 
case  entirely.  If  I  am  at  fault  I  am  willing  to  retire  as  grace- 
fully as  possible  under  the  circumstances,  but  if  I  am  right  I 
ask  you  to  uphold  me." 

The  air  rang  again  and  again  with  the  plaudits  of  the 
crowd. 

"Let  a  committee  of  two,"  I  cried  again,  "go  to  the 
stable,  bring  out  this  alleged  sick  horse,  and  see  if  he  is  not  in 
fine  shape." 

"  Give  him  a  show,"  yelled  the  people. 

"  I  come  of  a  race  of  people,"  said  I,  as  soon  as  silence 
was  once  more  restored,  "  that  always  respects  the  rights  of 


6i 

others  and  will  not  permit  themselves  to  be  trampled  upon. 
I  must  have  what  justly  belongs  to  me  here." 

The  West  loves  a  man  who  insists  upon  fairness  and  is 
not  afraid  to  demand  it  on  all  occasions  and  under  all  cir- 
cumstances. In  consequence  there  was  such  a  tumult  that 
had  not  that  horse  been  brought  out  and  made  to  run  in  that 
race  there  might  have  been  a  lynching. 

The  flag  fell  to  a  good  start,  but  I  had  the  best  horse,  and 
the  result  was  never  in  doubt.  None  of  them  ever  came 
near  him  and  John  Baker,  whose  name  I  had  changed  to 
Howell.  He  was  not  a  ringer,  for  I  plainly  told  every  one 
of  the  change.  I  got  the  stake,  in  spite  of  hints  thrown 
about  that  a  vigilance  committee  was  liable  to  wait  upon  me 
that  night. 

The  next  day  Premium  repeated  the  dose  and  got  the 
money.  I  had  good  bets  down  on  her  at  fair  odds,  for 
they  could  not  believe  that  I  had  all  the  best  horses  in  the 
State.  Miss  Ella  had  shown  wonderful  speed  in  a  race  at 
Lexington  before  she  was  taken  out  there,  and  she  seemed 
to  have  a  chance.  But  I  knew  my  mare  and  I  never  faltered 
in  the  belief  that  she  had  the  race  at  her  mercy.  There  was 
no  trouble  in  collecting  the  money. 

At  the  ending  of  this  meeting  I  sold  my  horses  to  A. 
Samples,  who  was  feeding  Gen.  Miles'  soldiers  over  in  the 
Yellowstone  Valley,  and  traveled  overland  back  to  Ogden, 
a  distance  of  about  a  thousand  miles,  having  $12,000  win- 
nings on  my  person,  representing  less  than  three  months' 
earnings. 

Back  in  old  Missouri  once  more,  I  had  about  made  up 
my  mind  to  retire  from  the  turf  Jor  good.  But  the  love  for 
horse  racing  was  not  so  easily  extinguished,  and  when 
Clifton  Bell  asked  me  to  train  a  string  of  good  ones  for  him 
I  consented.  He  told  me  just  to  set  my  own  price  on  my 
services. 

The  horses  were  at  that  time  at  Denver,  and  while  I 
was  waiting  for  them  to  arrive  I  was  induced  to  take  charge 
of  John  Davis,  a  horse  named  after  me,  and  owned  by  Capt. 
John  Shaw  and  Charles  Hunt.  The  horse  was  of  high 
class  and  had  quite  a  little  history,  for  his  ownership  was 
once  decided  by  a  game  of  seven  up.  One  half  of  him  was 
owned  by  Capt.  Shaw  and  the  other  by  Sam  Ecker.  Shaw 
bred  and  reared  the  animal,  but  he  gave  Ecker  a  half  interest 


62 

for  training-  him.  Then  they  agreed  to  play  a  game  of 
seven  up  to  see  who  would  own  all.  William  Mulkey,  a 
breeder  and  turfman,  of  Kansas  City  at  the  present  time,  was 
selected  to  play  for  Ecker,  who  did  not  understand  the  game 
perfectly,  while  Capt.  Shaw  manipulated  the  cards  for  him- 
self. It  was  for  seven  points  and  they  were  six  and  six. 
Mulkey  was  dealing  and  turned  a  jack,  which  gave  the 
horse  to  Ecker. 

I  had  told  Capt.  Shaw  the  horse  was  a  great  plater,  and 
I  persuaded  him  in  company  with  Charley  Hunt  to  buy  the 
animal  back.  There  was  one  drawback.  He  was  a  bolter, 
and  nothing  could  be  done  with  him,  for  he  would  not  run 
straight  at  any  time,  So,  while  I  was  waiting  for  the  horses 
to  come  here  from  Denver,  I  so  tamed  and  trained  him  that 
he  became  one  of  the  most  useful  horses  on  the  turf,  winning 
his  owers  many  thousands  of  dollars.  The  great  Checkmate 
barely  beat  him  for  the  cup  that  season. 

In  due  time  Mr.  Bell's  horses  arrived  and  I  took  charge 
of  them.  He  had  in  his  string  Dave  Yandell,  CHS  Bell, 
John  McGinty  and  three  others,  all  in  bad  shape.  I  put 
them  in  condition  and  went  to  Chicago  with  them,  where  I 
persuaded  Mr.  Bell  to  buy  Harry  Gilmore,  by  Buckden,  out 
of  Lady  Grigsby,  a  full  brother  to  Buchanan,  who  won  the 
Kentucky  Derby  and  at  the  same  time  twice  as  good  a 
horse. 

The  horse  was  looking  badly  at  the  time,  but  I  pro- 
ceeded to  fix  him  up.  At  Saratoga  he  began  to  improve 
rapidly,  and  I  saw  he  was  a  great  race  horse.  Up  to  this 
time  he  had  never  been  able  to  win  at  anything  greater  than 
a  mile  and  was  looked  upon  by  every  one  as  a  sprinter. 

I  soon  reahzed  that  he  had  something  more  in  him  than 
had  yet  appeared.  Just  at  daylight  every  morning  I  took 
him  out  and  gave  him  a  gallop,  which  put  strength  and 
endurance  into  his  system.  He  was  entered  in  the  great 
Omnibus  Stakes  at  Long  Branch,  although  no  one  thought 
he  had  the  remotest  chance  of  winning;  but  1  differed  from 
them  and  began  preparing  him  for  the  event.  Every  day 
at  daybreak  I  had  him  out  and  gave  him  his  work.  He 
showed  that  he  had  all  sorts  of  speed  as  well  as  endur- 
ance, and  I  knew  that  I  had  almost  made  a  new  horse  of  him. 

Just' before  leaving  for  Long  Branch  one  morning  I  sent 
him  a  mile  and  a  half  in  2:34^  with  112  pounds  up. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 
Hairy  Gilmore^s  Victory, 

Up  at  Long  Branch  active  preparations  were  going  on 
for  the  great  race.  The  favorite  w^as  Wyoming,  by  Pat 
Maloy,  a  horse  owned  by  George  Lorillard,  but  Tom  Plun- 
ket  and  a  horse  owned  by  D.  D.  Withers  were  all  thought 
more  favorably  of  than  my  horse.  In  fact,  it  was  generally 
conceded  that  Wyoming  was  the  best  three-year-old  of  the 
season  and  the  best  animal  Mr.  Lorillard  had  ever  owned. 

I  had  so  concealed  the  running  qualities  of  my  horse 
that  no  one  knew  what  he  could  do.  Trainers  were  betting 
suits  of  clothes  that  I  would  not  even  start,  and  that  I  was 
simply  taking  him  to  the  track  to  get  a  badge  for  the  meet- 
ing. 

Mr.  Bell  did  not  even  know  I  was  going  to  take  his 
horse  to  Long  Branch  and  he  was  suprised  when  I  tele- 
graphed him  that  I  was  going  to  start  Harry  Gilmore  in  the 
great  stake.  I  further  told  him  I  believed  I  could  win  and 
advised  him  to  get  down  all  the  money  he  could  on  his 
horse.  He  took  my  advice,  and  it  was  not  long  until  people 
began  to  wonder  what  I  meant  by  starting  such  a  horse  and 
what  Mr.  Bell  meant  by  betting  his  money.  This  did  not, 
however,  lessen  the  odds  on  the  horse's  chances. 

Billy  Donahue  was  on  Gilmore,  and  the  horse  walked 
out  in  front  of  the  stand  looking  as  fresh  as  a  daisy.  My 
instructions  to  the  rider  were  for  him  to  keep  out  of  the 
new-made  ground  on  the  track  and  never  be  out  of  the  race 
at  any  time.  I  said  I  would  stand  at  the  half-mile  pole  until 
after  he  passed  me,  and  to  keep  forcing  the  running  as  long 
as  my  hat  was  in  the  air.  He  had  the  best  horse  under  him, 
I  said,  and  there  was  nothing  in  it  that  could  touch  him  if  he 
followed  my  instructions. 

Donohue  did  just  as  I  told  him,  and  when  he  passed  me, 
forty  yards  in  the  lead,  I  yelled  to  him  to  sit  steady  and 
keep  going,  as  he  had  the  race  as  good  as  won.  The  other 
horses  were  never  able  to  get  within  speaking  distance  of  the 


64 

fleet-tooted  Gilmore,  and  he  galloped  in  under  a  pull,  win- 
ning the  first  Omnibus  Stakes  ever  run. 

It  was  the  greatest  surprise  of  the  time,  as  everybody 
figured  that  he  did  not  have  one  chance  in  a  thousand  of 
winning.  I  wagered  all  the  money  I  could  raise  on  the  race 
and  won  everything  I  went  after  in  the  financial  line  that 
day. 

This  race  set  people  to  thinking,  and  after  that  no  man 
ever  accused  me  of  having  a  badge  horse  in  a  race.  It  was 
generally  considered,  always,  that  when  I  started  in  a  race 
I  felt  sure  I  had  a  chance  of  winning.  I  might  buy  the 
poorest  skate,  and  put  him  in  a  race  with  a  lot  of  first-class 
platers,  but  my  horse  never  lacked  support.  In  fact,  I 
made  it  a  point  never  to  start  a  horse  as  a  favorite,  and  I 
never  did  so.  I  always  endeavored  to  get  as  much  money 
for  the  owner  as  I  could,  and  to  do  this  I  sometimes  had  to 
train  by  candle  light;  but  no  one  ever  knew  what  one  of  my 
horses  was  going  to  do.  It  was  but  fair  to  the  owner  to  get 
him  the  best  odds  possible. 

When  I  returned  to  the  West  I  met  Mr.  Bell,  who,  by 
the  way,  had  never  seen  me  since  I  took  charge  of  his  string. 
When  I  turned  over  $20,000  in  winnings  to  him  he  could 
hardly  believe  what  I  said.  At  first  he  said  I  could  not  have 
paid  my  expenses  out  of  the  money,  but  I  assured  him  that 
such  was  the  case. 

Harry  Gilmore  afterward  ran  in  the  Stallion  Stakes  at 
Louisville  against  my  advice,  and  was  defeated  by  two 
horses,  for  the  reason  that  he  never  could  run  in  the  mud. 
Clay  Pate,  a  sure  enough  mud  horse,  captured  the  race,  but 
he  could  never  have  landed  first  past  the  post  had  the  going 
been  fast  and  to  the  liking  of  Gilmore.  At  the  same  time 
we  had  in  our  stable  Dave  Yandell,  a  horse  that  liked  the 
mud,  and  could  easily  have  won.  In  fact,  I  tried  my  best  to 
induce  Mr.  Bell  to  start  Yandell ;  but  James  Guest,  a  half 
owner  of  Gilmore,  wanted  to  start  his  horse,  and  I  had  to 
submit.     Thus  we  lost  a  stake  that  should  have  fallen  to  us. 

We  moved  to  Chicago  from  Louisville,  and  I  won  the 
two-mile-  and  the  three-mile-heat  races  with  Dave  Yandell, 
beating  some  of  the  best  horses  there.  Harry  Gilmore  got 
the  mile-heat  race  handily.  After  this  I  returned  to  St. 
Louis  and  spent  the  winter.     The  next  season  I  started  out 


65 

with  the  same  stable,  and  going  to  Chicago  I  won  the  Board 
of  Trade  Handicap  with  Harry  Gilmore.  Three  days  later  I 
won  the  great  cup  race,  beating  John  Davis,  Lida  Stanhope, 
Farragut  and  a  half  dozen  other  flyers,  over  a  course  two 
and  a  quarter  miles.  This  is  the  only  one  of  Buckden's  get 
that  ever  went  a  cup  distance. 

At  the  close  of  this  meeting  I  turned  Mr.  Bell's  horses 
over  to  their  owner,  and  they  were  taken  back  to  Denver.  For 
a  few  months  I  rested  at  my  farm,  and  then  I  went  to  Chicago 
and  bought  Big  Three  and  another  four-year-old  called 
Fayette,  by  Australian  Chief.  With  them  I  earned  more 
than  $30,000  for  the  Ruddy  Brothers  that  season. 

Col.  Robert  A.  Johnson  and  John  Churchill  then  en- 
gaged me  to  train  their  horses.  In  the  string  were  Powhat- 
tan,  Loftin,  Adrian  and  Miss  Bowler,  all  of  which  were 
famous  in  their  day.  The  horses  were  in  wofuUy  bad 
shape.  They  were  vicious  to  an  extreme  and  had  been 
beaten  everywhere  they  had  been  raced.  Every  trainer 
that  had  had  hold  of  them  said  there  was  nothing  in  them  ; 
but  I  thought  there  was  and  1  went  to  work  on  them.  I 
knew  there  was  no  use  in  trying  to  race  them  at  once,  but  I 
paid  all  the  declarations  and  forfeits.  Leaving  Chicago  for 
Saratoga,  I  prepared  for  active  business.  In  a  race  between 
Pearl  Jennings  and  Powhattan,  a  dash  of  a  mile,  the  latter 
was  victorious  in  1:41^.  Up  to  this  time  Powhattan  had 
never  gone  a  mile  in  less  than  1:43  over  the  fast  Western 
tracks,  and  this  performance  was  remarkable.  As  in  all  my 
previous  races,  I  sent  him  to  the  post  a  rank  outsider.  Col. 
Johnson  had  little  hope  that  I  would  succeed  in  making  race 
horses  out  of  any  of  the  string,  but  he  had  confidence  in  my 
ability  and  knew  that  if  such  a  thing  were  possible  I  would 
do  so. 

The  horse  had  pleased  me  so  well  in  his  trials  that  I 
telegraphed  the  owners  to  put  a  good  bet  down,  and  they 
did  so,  winning  heavily.  There  was  very  little  outside  bet- 
ting on  Powhattan,  and  the  odds  were  as  good  as  6  to  i 
against  his  chances. 

Four  days  later  he  won  another  race  at  a  mile  and  five- 
eighths,  winning  easily. 

In  the  meantime  preparations  were  going  on  for  the 
great  cup  race  that  was  to  come  off  ten  days  later.     In  it 


66 

were  Powhattan,  Bob  Miles,  Boatsman,  Modesty,  Jim  Doug 
las  and  several  others,  but  these  were  the  best.  The  event- 
ful day  arrived  and  Powhattan  was  not  thought  well  of.  The 
odds  were  as  big  as  lo  to  i  against  him.  Modesty  and 
Boatsman  were  the  favorites,  but  the  others  had  some  fol- 
lowing. 

Well,  the  flag  fell  to  a  good  start,  and  Boatsman  started 
off  in  front,  with  Modesty  second,  Jim  Douglas  third.  Bob 
Miles  fourth,  Powhattan  fifth  and  the  others  strung  out.  At 
the  end  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  Bob  Miles  went  through  the 
bunch.  Powhattan  followed  closely  behind.  These  posi- 
tions were  maintained  until  the  end  of  the  chute  was  reached. 
All  the  time  Powhattan  was  creeping  slowly  forward.  Fitz- 
patrick,  on  Miles,  saw  the  danger  and  plied  whip  and  spur. 
Hay  ward,  on  Powhattan,  however,  was  not  to  be  shaken  off, 
and  at  length  he  was  on  even  terms  with  the  flying  leader. 
On  down  the  stretch  they  thundered,  neither  seeming  to  be 
gaining  an  inch,  and  when  they  passed  under  the  wire  they 
were  so  close  together  that  it  was  fully  twenty  minutes  be- 
fore the  judges  were  able  to  decide  which  had  won.  Finally, 
they  gave  it  to  Bob  Miles,  and  thus  ended  one  of  the  great- 
est races  ever  run.  The  others  were  hardly  to  be  considered 
in  it,  for  they  were  so  far  away  at  the  finish  that  the  crowd 
had  almost  forgotten  them  when  they  came  under  the  wire. 

I  had  placed  the  horses  in  just  this  position  previous  to 
the  race,  and  I  urged  my  friends  to  get  down  on  it.  They 
did  so.  Col.  Bob  Pate,  one  of  the  best-known  turfmen  of 
the  country,  owned  Boatsman,  and  he  wagered  heavily  on 
the  result.  1  met  him  just  before  the  race.  I  persuaded  him 
to  back  my  horse  for  the  place  and  Miles  to  win.  He  did 
so,  and  it  saved  him  from  serious  loss. 

Back  to  St.  Louis  I  came  and  annexed  the  four  great 
stakes,  winning  two  with  Powhattan  and  Loftin,  meeting 
Buchanan,  the  Kentucky  Derby  winner,  and  Troubadour,who 
has  since  become  famous  as  the  property  of  that  representa- 
tive turfman.  Col.  S.  S.  Brown,  of  Pittsburg,  During  my 
trip  abroad  I  had  been  quietly  working  Loftin  along,  but 
had  never  raced  him,  for  his  ankles  were  sore  and  he  was  in 
a  precarious  condition. 

But  by  the  time  he  arrived  in  St.  Louis  he  was  fit  to 
run  for  a  man's  life,  as  the  saying  is.     I  had  him  entered  in 


67 

all  the  big-  stakes,  and  when  he  met  Buchanan,  who  had 
beaten  him  at  Louisville,  he  quickly  took  the  measure  of  his 
one-time  conqueror.  Even  Troubadour  had  beaten  poor  old 
Loftin  when  he  was  too  sick  to  run  and  give  an  account  of 
himself,  and  this  made  the  victory  a  doubly  interesting  one. 
It  illustrates  very  clearly  the  point  I  have  always  made,  that 
a  trainer  must  understand  his  horses  before  he  can  make 
them  do  their  best.  Then  a  horse  should  always  be  fit  before 
he  is  started.  Otherwise  you  injure  the  horse  and  perhaps 
destroy  his  chances  forever. 

Over  at  Churchill  Downs,  in  Louisville,  I  found  stable 
room,  and  in  a  race  of  a  mile  and  three-eighths,  in  which  I 
ran  Powhattan,  he  was  beaten  a  head  on  the  post  because 
the  boy  could  not  get  him  out  of  a  pocket.  I  warned  him 
against  it,  but  cunning  little  Stoval  and  another  boy  pulled 
together,  wedge-like,  and  shut  him  off.  They  held  him  for 
a  mile.  If  he  could  have  got  out  at  any  time  during  this 
period  he  would  have  won. 

In  a  two-mile-heat  race  later  Powhattan  was  a  winner, 
and  Col.  Sam  Bryant,  who  once  owned  the  famous  Proctor 
Knott  and  won  thousands  of  dollars  with  him,  remarked 
that  my  work  on  the  horse  was  something  so  remarkable 
that  it  was  beyond  his  comprehension.  He  had  left  Louis- 
ville in  the  spring  a  cripple,  sick,  broken  down  and  abso- 
lutely of  no  account,  and  now  he  had  returned  one  of  the 
best  horses  of  the  year. 

That  fall  1  fired  Loftin  and  brought  him  back  to  St. 
Louis.  During  the  ensuing  spring  Col.  Johnson  died  at 
Knoxville,  and  thus  passed  away  one  of  the  truest  and  best 
friends  any  man  ever  had.  He  was  often  called  the  "  Mag- 
net of  the  American  Turf,"  so  attractive  was  his  personality, 
and  no  man  so  well  deserved  the  title.  Everybody  liked  him 
and  he  liked  everybody. 

This  untimely  and  sorrowful  incident  necessitated  the 
settling  up  of  his  estate,  and  I  repaired  to  Lexington  with 
the  horses  that  had  made  his  name  famous  all  over  the 
country  and  that  had  won  him  so  many  thousands  of  dollars. 
Even  now,  as  I  write  it,  tears  come  to  the  eyes  of  the  man 
who  loved  him  as  devotedly  as  a  brother. 

The  horses  were  sold  at  public  sale  and  the  string  drifted 
apart.     This  ended  the  association  of  two  men  who  had  been 


68 

friends  for  fifty  years,  and  there  was  never  a  parting  in  which 
there  was  greater  reluctance. 

When  the  hand  of  death's  angel  is  laid  upon  me, 
And  my  course  upon  earth  has  fully  been  Tun, 

May  I  find  there  in  waiting,  beyond  the  dark  sea, 
The  face  of  my  old  friend  as  bright  as  a  sun. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
My   Recollections. 

Another  horse  I  took,  when  she  was  considered  to  be 
totally  unfit  for  racing,  was  Nannie  B.,  by  Glenco,  out  of 
Mary  Churchill,  by  Alex.  Churchill.  The  mare  belonged  to 
Warren  Viley,  and  previously  he  had  given  John  Harper  a 
half  interest  in  her  for  training  the  animal.  After  working 
with  her  for  months  Mr.  Harper  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
she  was  utterly  worthless,  and  he  so  informed  Mr.  Viley. 
The  latter  had  no  confidence  in  her  ability  himself,  but  he 
gave  Mr.  Harper  $ioo  for  his  half  interest  in  her. 

Mr.  Viley  thought  after  awhile  that  there  might  after 
all  be  something  in  the  mare,  and  he  persuaded  me  to  take 
her  on  shares.  I  was  to  stand  all  the  expense  of  training  and 
was  to  conduct  the  campaign  with  her.  I  found  her  condi- 
tion had  not  been  misrepresented.  She  was  even  worse  off 
than  had  been  claimed. 

She  was  a  mare  that  required  very  little  or  no  training, 
and  I  found,  after  a  careful  investigation,  that  Mr.  Harper 
had  trained  her  too  much.  She  could  not  stand  the  hard 
work.  He  was  unable  to  make  her  eat  what  she  needed  to 
sustain  her.  Th'i  heart  was  taken  out  of  her  by  the  constant 
strain,  and,  as  a  result,  when  she  was  placed  in  a  race,  she 
made  no  showing. 

A  trainer  should  study  the  horse  upon  which  he  is  work- 
ing, in  order  to  make  him  do  what  he  is  really  capable  of 
doing.  Where  one  horse  requires  constant  hard  work, 
another  will  need  next  to  nothing,  the  rest  being  all  the 
preparation  that  is  necessary.  There  are  hundreds  of  train- 
ers to-day  who  are  simply  working  the  racing  properties  out 
of  their  horses  and  rendering  them  useless  for  the  future.  It 
is  true,  they  may  succeed  in  winning  some  few  races  by  this 
system,  but  in  the  end  the  fallacy  of  the  treatment  will  be 
proven. 

It  was  but  a  short  time  until  I  became  convinced  that 
such  was  the  case  with  Nannie  B.  I  gave  her  a  rest,  and  she 
brightened  up  and  began  to  take  on  flesh  and  strength.     In 


70 

a  month  she  did  not  look  anything  like  the  poor,  worn-out 
animal  she  was  when  I  got  her.  There  was  an  elasticity  in 
her  step  that  had  not  been  perceptible  before.  Short  gal- 
lops and  a  healthful  appetite  brought  back  her  vigor  and 
put  her  in  shape. 

When  I  thought  her  about  fit,  I  put  her  in  a  mile  race 
with  several  good  ones  and  she  was  first  past  the  post.  The 
same  week  I  put  her  in  another  race,  the  Green  Stake,  at 
mile  heats,  where  she  met  a  horse  that  John  Harper  had 
trained  and  beat  him  easily.  She  met  Volga,  a  full  sister  to 
the  great  Vandal ;  Charley  Woods,  an  own  brother  to  Maria 
Woods  and  Anna  Travis,  and  was  defeated  by  Volga  in  four 
heats  of  two  miles  each.  She  finished  second,  being  beaten 
by  a  head,  and  should  have  won.  The  jockey  laid  too  far 
back  and  had  too  much  of  a  gap  to  make  up  at  the  finish. 
Had  he  followed  my  instructions  we  would  have  landed  the 
race,  as  I  won  the  first  heat,  ran  a  dead  heat  the  next  one, 
and  ought  to  have  had  the  other.  As  it  was,  Volga  got  the 
last  two  heats. 

On  the  day  following  I  sold  her  to  a  man  named  Lewis, 
of  Alabama.  In  the  South  she  won  many  races  afterward 
and  brought  her  new  owner  considerably  more  than  the 
13,500  he  paid  for  her. 

Afterward  I  trained  a  little  horse  called  Iceburg,  by 
Zero,  belonging  to  James  Wood,  on  shares.  At  Crab  Or- 
chard I  ran  him  for  five  days  in  succession  and  won  every 
race  in  which  he  was  entered.  I  afterward  won  a  couple  of 
races  with  him  at  Lexington  and  lost  to  Red  Oak  by  a  head 
at  two  miles.  He  gave  Red  Oak  the  hardest  race  he  ever 
had  in  Kentucky.  It  was  the  only  time  I  ever  saw  Red  Oak 
extended.  I  sold  Iceburg  that  week  to  a  Northwestern  lum- 
berman, who  ran  him  successfully  for  a  couple  of  years  in 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa. 

Then  I  made  a  campaign  into  Virginia  with  Adle  Giser 
and  Sam  Letcher,  but  previously  I  had  been  into  Canada 
with  them  and  won  many  good  stakes.  At  the  Broad  Rock 
track,  near  Richmond,  I  made  a  match  for  $5,000  a  side  with 
David  McDaniels,  the  owner  of  Carolina,  a  mare  that,  up  to 
that  time,  had  never  been  beaten  and  had  a  series  of  victories 
to  her  credit.  The  Virginians  had  begun  to  think  the  mare 
was  invincible.     The  distance  agreed  upon  was  two-mile- 


71 

heats,  and  Sam  Letcher  represented  my  stable.  Carolina 
won  the  first  heat  by  about  a  length.  In  the  second  heat  I 
instructed  my  jockey  to  take  the  lead  and  force  the  running- 
all  the  way,  as  I  felt  I  had  the  best  horse  and  that  Letcher 
could  win.  Besides,  I  had  a  desire  to  bet  a  little  money  on 
the  race. 

Thomas  Eans,  a  sporting-  man  from  Nashville,  bet  me 
$ioo  to  a  cravat  that  Carolina  would  defeat  Sam  Letcher.  I 
took  the  bet  and  went  on  cooling  out  my  horse. 

They  went  to  the  post  for  the  second  heat,  and,  accord- 
ing to  instructions,  my  boy  g-ot  off  in  front  and  pushed 
the  horse  for  all  he  would  stand.  The  boy  on  Carolina 
trailed  along,  thinking  he  had  something  in  reserve  in  the 
mare,  but  when  he  called  upon  her  at  the  finish  he  found 
that  she  had  about  exhausted  herself,  and  she  was  five 
lengths  behind  as  my  horse  passed  under  the  wire.  Every- 
body realized  that  the  race  was  practically  over. 

In  the  third  heat  my  horse  went  to  the  front  and  took 
the  lead  all  the  way.  He  won  easily,  and  once  more  Old 
Kentucky  had  scored  a  triumph.  Thousands  of  dollars 
changed  hands  on  the  result  of  the  race,  for  the  Kentuckians 
had  faith  in  me  and  my  hors'e. 

At  Fairfield  I  made  a  match  for  Adle  Giser  with  Mc- 
Daniels  against  Carolina  for  $5,000  a  side.  My  horse  took 
the  lead  at  the  start  and  won  handily.  Then  we  made 
another  match  for  the  same  amount  between  the  same  horses, 
for  McDaniels  was  not  yet  satisfied.  It  resulted  as  before. 
Still  McDaniels  thought  he  had  the  better  animal  and  we 
matched  them  for  $2,500  a  side,  but  the  game  little  mare 
had  met  her  mistress  in  Adle  Giser,  and  it  was  clearly  estab- 
lished that  both  my  horses  were  her  superiors.  McDaniels 
afterward  became  discouraged  and  forfeited  the  money  in 
the  last  match. 

At  that  time  McDaniels  could  have  won,  for  my  horse 
was  badly  chafed  and  in  bad  shape.  But  I  pretended  that 
Adle  Giser  was  all  right  and  had  her  on  the  track  at  the 
time  the  drum  call  was  made.  McDaniels  had  informed  the 
judges  that  if  I  came  out  with  my  horse  he  would  forfeit  his 
money;  and  when  they  saw  me  ready,  or  apparently  so,  they 
declared  the  race  off.  I  won  this  race  through  a  bluS,  for 
the  chances  are  that  I  would  have  lost. 


72 

McDaniels,  and  Belcher,  his  trainer,  who,  by  the  way, 
trained  the  great  Boston,  followed  me  to  Baltimore  and 
purchased  both  my  horses,  so  impressed  were  they  with 
their  worth.  A  peculiar  fact  connected  with  this  purchase 
was  that  these  men  raced  these  horses  for  two  years  and 
never  won  a  race  with  them.  I  do  not  know  why  it  was, 
unless  it  was  because  they  did  not  understand  their  tempera- 
ments and  how  they  should  be  prepared  for  bruising  con- 
tests. 

Afterward  I  took  a  half  dozen  colts  for  Joseph  Boswell, 
among  which  were  Gabriel  and  Charley  Wheatley,  at  Lex- 
ington, and  developed  them.  I  did  not  race  these  horses, 
for  I  transferred  my  talents  to  the  string  of  Judge  John 
Hunter,  of  Mobile,  Ala.  He  had  in  his  string  Lorette, 
Mary  Ogden  and  Red  Eagle,  all  good  horses.  We  won 
several  races  in  the  State,  and  then  went  to  Columbus,  Ga., 
where  I  won  a  stake  with  Lorette  at  mile  heats,  beating  Bill 
Cheatham,  a  Tennessee  colt  of  some  renown.  I  also  got 
a  mile  race  with  Mary  Ogden. 

Lorette  lost  to  Sox  at  Savannah,  Ga.,  but  he  was  a 
great  horse,  and  there  was  little  disgrace  in  losing  to  him. 
In  a  dash  of  two  miles  Mary  Ogden  was  a  winner  here. 

Probably  the  most  remarkable  campaign  in  my  career 
was  with  Frank  Allen  and  Moidore.  They  belonged  to 
Pryor  Brothers  and  Berry  Brothers,  of  Columbus,  Ga., 
The  campaign  opened  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  and  all  the  great 
horses  of  the  North  and  South  were  assembled  there. 

My  first  race  was  a  stake  event,  in  which  Frank  Allen 
represented  my  stable.  Charley  Ball,  who  had  a  year  be- 
fore beaten  Frank  Allen  in  a  $5,000  match;  Laura  Spillman, 
Mary  Blueskin,  Floride  and  Griff  Edmondson  were  the 
starters.  It  was  a  two-mile-heat  race.  Charley  Ball  annexed 
the  first  heat  without  trouble.  The  next  two  heats  fell  to 
Frank  Allen,  who  in  the  third  heat  made  the  best  time  that 
has  ever  been  run  over  the  track. 

The  next  day  I  won  a  three-mile-heat  purse  with  Moi- 
doire  from  John  Aiken  and  several  others.  It  was  probably 
the  best  race  Moidoire  ever  ran.  Then  I  won  a  four-mile- 
heat  stake  race  with  Frank  Allen  in  two  straight  heats, 
beating  Cordelia  Reed,  Laura  Spillman  and  a  couple  of 
others. 


73 

At  Savannah  I  won  a  three-mile-heat  race  with  Moidore' 
beating  Tar  River,  a  noted  horse  of  the  time,  and  several 
others.     At  two  and  four  miles  Frank  Allen  again  won. 

The  feature  of  this  campaign,  which  ended  at  this  time, 
was  the  fact  that  my  horses  always  beat  horses  that  had  pre- 
viously in  other  campaigns  beaten  them.  We  probably  won 
about  $30,000  in  purses  alone,  but  the  owners  were  big  bettors, 
and  when  1  told  them  my  horses  were  fit  they  never  failed  to 
get  down  with  all  they  could  get  placed.  The  result  was, 
they  must  have  "cleaned  up,"  as  the  saying  is,  about  $100,- 
000.  There  was  hardly  ever  a  time  we  lost,  and  even  then  I 
saw  that  they  had  their  money  safely  "  placed."  Thus  they 
never  lost.  The  campaign  was  remarkable  because  of  the 
winnings  and  the  running  of  the  horses  that  were  thought 
to  be  of  inferior  class. 

Glendower  and  Laclede  were  placed  in  my  hands  by 
B.  F.  Hutchinson  in  Missouri,  and  I  raced  them  through  a 
vigorous  campaign.  Glendower  was  one  of  the  fastest  horses 
I  ever  handled. 

There  were  hundreds  of  other  horses  that  I  trained  and 
raced,  but  many  of  them  attained  no  especial  fame,  although 
they  frequently  won  races.  In  any  event,  the  owners  never 
suffered  financially  through  my  training,  and  they  knew  that 
when  I  pronounced  a  horse  unworthy  of  training  that  there 
was  no  hope  in  him. 


CHAPTER  X. 
Home  of  the  Racer* 

Kentucky  may  to-day  be  virtually  termed  the  home  ot 
the  thoroughbred,  for  it  has  certainly  produced  more  great 
race  horses  than  any  other  section  of  the  world.  The  Blue- 
grass  country  is  the  richest  in  the  "  dark  and  bloody 
ground,"  and  its  emerald-hued  fields  abound  with  grand 
farms  and  magnificent  training  quarters. 

Probably  the  first  race  horse  ever  brought  to  this  State 
was  taken  there  by  Leonard  Israel  Fleming,  who  laboriously 
worked  his  way  over  the  mountains  from  Virginia,  and  after 
many  privations  arrived  at  his  father's  estate  in  Kentucky. 
It  was  a  vast  tract  that  had  been  ceded  him  by  the  govern- 
ment and  was  uncultivated,  but  it  was  in  the  fertile  country 
near  where  Midway  now  stands.  It  is  claimed  also  that  he 
established  the  first  race  track  in  the  State  on  the  Forks  of 
Elkhorn,  but  this  point  is  in  dispute.  However,  everything 
goes  to  show  that  the  first  track  was  built  in  that  vicinity. 
Mr.  Fleming  was  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Andrew  M.  Sulli- 
van, a  leading  attorney  of  St.  Louis,  and  also  of  the  late 
Judge  W.  B.  Fleming,  of  Louisville,  Ky.  The  Rev.  Thomas 
Lewis,  an  old  negro  preacher,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  claims  to 
have  been  Mr.  Fleming's  jockey,  and  says  that  when  he 
became  too  heavy  to  ride  he  was  taken  out  of  the  saddle 
and  placed  in  the  pulpit  by  his  owner. 

A  mention  of  the  States  that  have  produced  the  great 
thoroughbreds  of  the  country  will  be  of  interest  to  the 
reader.  Of  course,  Kentucky  stands  at  the  top,  as  has  been 
stated,  for  she  has  the  location  and  everything  that  pertains 
to  the  making  of  splendid  horses. 

Probably  the  greatest  sire  Kentucky  ever  produced,  and 
of  whom  the  loyal  natives  of  the  State  will  always  point  to 
with  pride,  was  Lexington — a  name  that  is  a  household  word 
in  the  State  famous  for  its  pretty  women,  fast  horses  and 
good  whisky,  Lexington  was  a  wonderful  horse,  of  his  age, 
as  a  performer  at  all  distances ;  but  he  gained  his  greatest 


75 

fame  in  the  stud,  and  his  sons  and  daughters  have  perpetu- 
ated it.     He  was  bred  by  Dr.  Warfield. 

Medoc  probably  comes  next  on  the  list.  Fleet  of  foot, 
he  won  many  great  races  and  earned  for  his  owners  thou- 
sands of  dollars  on  the  track.  He  was  bred  in  New  Jersey 
by  John  and  Robert  Stephens,  purchased  by  John  Buford 
and  brought  to  Kentucky,  where  his  fame  did  not  languish. 
Here  he  did  yeoman  service  in  the  stud,  and  any  owner  of 
to-day  is  happy  to  be  able  to  show  the  Medoc  strain  in  his 
horses'  breeding.  His  mares,  like  those  of  Lexington, 
earned  glory  on  the  turf  and  in  the  stud. 

Glencoe  was  imported  from  England  by  Mr.  Jackson,  of 
Tennessee,  and  Frank  Harper,  who  was  known  as  "Glencoe 
Frank,"  to  distinguish  him  from  his  cousin  of  the  same  name, 
purchased  him  and  took  him  to  Kentucky.  There  was  but 
one  horse  in  the  world  of  his  day  that  could  beat  him,  and 
that  was  Plenipotentiary,  who  took  his  measure  in  Old  Eng- 
land, before  he  came  to  this  country.  He  ran  no  races  in 
this  country,  but  was  remarkably  successful  in  the  stud.  His 
mares  proved  a  splendid  cross  for  any  and  all  of  the  stallions 
of  his  time,  and  his  name  will  live  as  long  as  there  is  an 
American  turf. 

Leamington  was  imported  from  England,  and  for  a  short 
time  remained  on  Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  then  went  to  the 
farm  of  Abe  Buford,  where  he  was  at  once  put  in  the 
stud.  He  got  some  of  the  greatest  race  horses  of  the  world. 
Out  of  eleven  mares  he  produced  nine  horses  that  distin- 
guished themselves  as  performers.  When  he  was  taken  back 
to  Philadelphia  he  produced  Parole,  a  horse  good  enough  to 
go  to  England  and  defeat  every  other  animal  with  which  he 
came  in  contact. 

Hanover  was  bred  by  Clay  &  Woodford,  near  Lexington, 
and  until  his  death  he  was  a  great  sire.  His  get  are  winning 
many  of  the  races  of  to-day,  and  nearly  every  one  of  his  sons 
and  daughters  are  considered  almost  invincible.  Some  of 
the  great  horses  that  are  now  traveling  about  through  Eng- 
land and  America  are  his  immediate  descendants.  His  fillies 
are  not  old  enough  to  be  breeding ;  but  they  will  be  heard 
from  in  the  near  future,  and  such  shrewd  owners  and  train- 
ers as  John  E.  Madden  are  securing  all  of  this  stock  they  are 
able  to  obtain. 


76 

Longfellow  was  bred  by  John  Harper,  in  Woodford 
County,  and  distinguished  himself  as  a  great  performer. 
Then  he  was  placed  in  the  stud,  and  his  descendants  are  the 
noted  horses  of  the  country.  A  horse  that  traces  his  lineage 
to  Longfellow  is  certainly  bred  in  the  purple  and  has  a  claim 
to  equine  royalty. 

Richard  Ten  Broeck  imported  Phaeton,  who  produced 
many  great  horses.     He  sired  the  mighty  Ten  Broeck. 

Ten  Broeck  was  bred  by  John  Harper  and  held  the 
record  from  one  to  four  miles  for  many  years.  Ten  Broeck 
was  placed  in  the  stud  and  got  many  horses  of  mediocre 
caliber,  but  he  probably  would  have  done  better  had  he  been 
bred  to  the  proper  kind  of  mares. 

Himyar  was  bred  by  Major  B.  G.  Thomas  at  Lexington 
and  was  one  of  the  fastest  horses  of  his  day.  He  was  badly 
managed  in  many  respects,  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  was 
certainly  a  great  horse.  The  wonderful  animal  was  by 
Alarm,  out  of  Hira,  by  Lexington,  and  Hira  was  out  of 
Hijira,  by  Ambassenger.  He  came  from  a  singularly  dis- 
tinguished family.  Himyar  sired  Domino,  Highfiight,  Hataf 
and  others,  all  of  whom  became  known  to  fame. 

Virginia  probably  comes  next  on  the  list.  It  was  there 
that  Boston,  Florisel,  Sir  Archy,  Henry,  Red  Eye  and  others 
had  their  origin,  and  most  of  them  became  good  sires.  Sir 
Archy  was  probably  the  best  of  the  lot  as  a  producer,  and 
his  get  are  to  be  seen  in  the  leading  strains  to-day.  "  Inspec- 
tor, by  Boston,"  Nat  Pope,  Planet,  Financier  and  Revenue 
might  also  be  mentioned  with  Fanny  and  Sue  Washington. 

New  Jersey  has  a  claim  to  distinction,  for  it  was  the 
home  of  Duroc,  the  sire  of  American  Eclipse,  Medoc  and 
several  other  great  sires  whose  progeny  have  climbed  to  the 
pinnacle  of  turf  fame.  All  of  them  produced  winners,  and 
their  get  are  perpetuating  their  fame.  New  Jersey  will 
never  sink  into  obscurity  as  a  breeding  place  of  the  country. 

Maryland  comes  into  notice  because  of  her  many  impor- 
tations of  great  stallions,  and  the  sturdy  stock  produced 
from  them  is  a  monument  to  her  fame  in  that  respect.  This 
State  had  in  its  early  days  a  class  of  breeders  who  did  not 
hesitate  a  moment  when  it  came  to  expense  in  getting  the 
very  best  there  was  on  the  market  at  the  time.  Among  her 
eminent  sires  was  Maryland  Eclipse,  whose  produce  were 


77 

among  the  winners  of  the  long  ago,  and  whose  greatness  has 
not  yet  been  forgotten.  The  strain  is  traced  by  some  of  the 
noted  horses  of  to-day.  Catesby  and  St.  George  were  also 
sires  of  the  olden  time. 

While  New  York  is  now  the  greatest  racing  center  of 
the  United  States,  she  also  has  a  claim  as  a  breeding  place, 
for  there  have  been  many  good  sires  in  the  Empire  State. 
The  greater  part  of  them  were  importations,  and,  while  they 
did  not  leave  such  a  vastly  distinguished  progeny,  they  were 
breadwinners  in  every  respect.  Sensation  was  a  great  stal- 
lion, owned  by  George  Lorillard,  and  was  never  beaten  in  a 
race.  He  had  remarkable  powers  of  speed  and  endurance, 
and  was  by  Leamington,  out  of  Susan  Bean. 

Down  in  old  Tennessee,  with  its  mountains  and  dells, 
fine  farms  and  pleasant  people,  there  were  many  great  stal- 
lions. Imp.  Albion,  Stockholder,  Leviathan,  Jack  Malone, 
imp.  Great  Tom,  Inspector  B.,  Iroquois,  Vandal,  imp.  St. 
Blaze  and  a  half  dozen  others  all  distinguished  themselves 
in  the  stud  on  the  beautiful  stock  farms  there.  Every  day 
one  hears  of  their  get.  Gen.  W.  H.  Jackson  owns  the 
beautiful  Belle  Meade,  and  some  of  the  grandest  colts  and 
fillies  in  the  world  have  romped  on  the  pastures  there.  As 
a  breeder  Gen.  Jackson  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  in  Ten- 
nessee and  is  noted  for  his  strict  integrity  and  fairness  in 
dealing  with  men. 

Alabama  gets  her  fame  through  imp.  Buckden,  one  of 
the  best  stallions  of  his  day.  He  was  owned  by  Capt.  Wil- 
liam Cottrell,  of  Mobile.  Brown  Dick  was  bred  in  Alabama, 
but  was  owned  and  stood  in  Tennessee. 

Some  of  the  highest  bred  and  best  producing  stock  came 
from  South  Carolina,  where  imp.  Sovereign,  owned  by  Wade 
Hampton  ;  imp.  Rowton,  and  a  host  of  others  added  to  the 
luster  of  the  American  turf  through  their  progeny. 

Bonnie  Scotland  stood  first  in  Ohio  and  was  imported 
by  Reber  &  Kounce.  Monarch,  Bronx,  Clay  Trustee  and  a 
few  others  stood  in  the  Buckeye  State,  but  Bonnie  Scotland 
was  the  greatest  stallion  that  ever  did  service  there. 

The  boast  of  Illinois  is  that  she  had  West  Roxbury,  sire 
of  Force,  Renown,  Rocket  and  Startle ;  Zero,  the  son  of 
Boston  and  Zenobia ;  imp.  Billet,  Hyder  Ali,  Uncle  Vic  and 
a  few  others  who  left  a  vast  progeny. 


78 

Missouri  had  Tom  Moore,  Voucher,  Glendower,  Virgin- 
ius,  Frogtown,  Harry  O'Fallon  and  others  of  less  note.  Imp. 
Sain,  imp.  Foul  Shot,  imp.  Donald  A.,  imp.  Siddartha,  imp. 
Joe  Norwood,  Ten  Stone  and  Freeman  are  making  the  his- 
tory of  the  State  to-day.  Barney  Schreiber,  Dr.  A.  A.  Mc- 
Alester  and  Joseph  D.  Lucas  are  the  principal  breeders  of 
the  State,  and  the  animals  bred  attheir  places  are  fast  earning 
laurels  for  themselves  and  their  owners.  The  breeding  in- 
terests of  Missouri  are  developing  all  the  time,  and  she  will 
soon  be  able  to  share  honors  with  many  of  the  mighty  ones. 

California,  last  but  not  least  by  any  means,  is  doing  a 
great  deal  for  the  thoroughbred  interests  of  this  day.  Among 
the  most  noted  and  foremost  of  the  breeders  of  race  horses 
in  this  State  may  be  mentioned  Messrs.  G.  B.  Haggin,  J.  B. 
Baldwin,  Waterhouse,  Fred  Gebhardt,  and  in  former  years 
Theodore  Winters,  who  became  distinguished  by  being  the 
owner  of  Norfolk,  Joe  Hooker,  Marion,  Yotambian,  The  Zar 
and  others  that  were  noted. 

These  are  the  principal  States  that  are  breeding 
thoroughbreds  to-day,  but  there  are  many  stallions  of  less 
note  in  a  number  of  the  sections  that  have  not  been  men- 
tioned. 

In  the  year  of  1849  O''  1850  Mr.  Charles  Weir,  of  Powhat- 
tan  County,  Virginia,  imported  from  England  into  America 
the  horse  Skylark,  who  for  his  great  weight-carrying  ca- 
pacity, his  general  hardihood  and  high  ability  to  race,  es- 
pecially at  long  distances,  stood  almost  without  a  peer  in 
any  country  of  his  day.  Skylark  won  24  King's  Plates, 
which  was  a  greater  number  than  any  other  horse  ever  won 
up  to  his  day.  Skylark  won  42  three-  and-four-mile  heat 
races.  He  was  on  two  occasions  entered  to  run  two  races 
in  one  day,  which  he  did,  and  winning  both  races  each  time 
with  consummate  ease.  He  met  and  defeated  Lady  Elizabeth, 
who  had  distinguished  herself  by  carrying  135  lbs.,  and  ran 
four  miles  in  7:45.  He  also  met  and  defeated  the  famous 
Economist  twice,  the  sire  of  the  immortal  Harkaway,  carry- 
ing at  the  time  168  lbs.,  four  miles.  He  was  always  assigned 
the  top  weights  in  the  handicaps  and  on  one  occasion  was 
asked  to  carry  in  the  Corinthian  the  extraordinary  weight 
of  210  lbs.  The  change  made  in  running  the  Corinthian 
was  attributed  to  this  horse's   unparalleled   performances 


79 

over  a  distance  of  ground  with  such  heavy  weights.  At 
eight  years  old  his  owners  issued  a  challenge  to  run  any 
horse  in  the  world,  four  miles,  with  top  weight,  for  any 
amount,  the  parties  who  might  accept  to  name  the  amount 
of  the  stakes  to  be  run  for;  but  as  no  one  accepted  the  chal- 
lege,  he  was  withdrawn  from  the  turf,  without  even  an  oslet 
or  splint,  and  as  sound  as  an  American  dollar. 


CHAPTER  XL 
Why  They  Won. 

It  is  sometimes  very  little  things  that  cause  horses  to  win 
or  lose  races.  For  instance,  take  the  case  of  Belle  of  the 
Highlands,  who  lost  to  Checkmate  at  Saratoga  in  the  cup 
race.  John  Huggins  was  training  Belle  of  the  Highlands  at 
the  time,  and  he  was  confident  that  his  mare  could  win.  He 
instructed  his  jockey,  a  little  negro  called  Coley,  to  trail 
along  closely  until  he  came  to  a  certain  point  where  he  would 
find  a  handkerchief  tied  to  a  fence,  letting  Checkmate  make 
the  running.  As  soon  as  he  saw  the  handkerchief  he  was  to 
urge  his  horse  forward  and  come  on  and  win. 

The  distance  was  two  and  a  quarter  miles,  and  the  boy 
followed  instructions,  always  keeping  not  far  away.  But 
some  one  on  the  outside,  it  is  claimed,  removed  the  handker- 
chief, having  learned  of  the  arrangement  and  desiring  Belle 
of  the  Highlands  to  lose,  and  when  the  negro  lad  rode  down 
the  stretch  he  kept  looking  for  the  sign  to  begin  making  his 
run.  The  longer  he  waited  the  worse  his  chances  were.  At 
length  he  saw  there  was  no  handkerchief,  but  it  was  then  too 
late  for  him  to  win.     He  did  his  best  and  lost. 

Then  there  is  the  remarkable  case  where  Kriss  Kringle 
won  a  race  at  Latonia.  He  was  old  and  stiff,  a  sulker,  and  it 
was  a  difficult  matter  to  make  him  do  his  best.  But  on  the 
day  in  question  the  boys  in  the  stable  were  determined  to 
make  him  win  if  it  was  possible.  They  put  down  their  scant 
earnings  on  his  chances  and  assembled  at  different  parts  of 
the  track  to  watch  the  race.  Kriss  Kringle  was  sent  to  the 
post  in  fairly  good  shape,  but  he  got  off  badly  and  ran  in  his 
usual  slow  manner  around  to  the  three-quarter  pole.  There 
a  stable  boy  ran  out,  beating  a  tin  pan  to  scare  him  into  doing 
something.  At  this  juncture  an  L.  &  N.  train  passed  and 
the  engineer  gave  the  whistle  a  toot  that  was  loud  enough  to 
have  at  least  caused  Rip  Van  Winkle  to  turn  over  while  in 
his  deepest  slumber.  Old  Kriss  Kringle  gave  a  snort,  tossed 
his  head  and  let  out  a  kink  in  his  going.  He  shot  by  the 
others  at  lightning-like  speed,  and  if  ever  he  was  anything 


like  a  stake  horse  it  was  on  this  occasion,  for  he  passed  under 
the  wire  an  easy  winner,  and  the  lads  who  had  wagered 
their  money  on  him  collected  at  odds  of  lo  to  i. 

Even  in  the  great  race  between  Gray  Eagle  and  Wag- 
ner it  was  a  trifling  incident  that  brought  about  the  victory 
of  Wagner.  Wagner  would  not  do  his  best  unless  frightened 
into  doing  it,  and  the  attaches  of  the  stable  were  sent  out  at 
the  turn  at  the  head  of  the  stretch.  When  it  became  neces- 
sary to  close  up  the  gap  between  Wagner  and  Gray  Eagle  at 
this  point  the  stable  boys  began  yelling  in  such  a  manner, 
that  Wagner  shook  himself  up  and  did  what  he  was  capable 
of  doing.  He  shot  to  the  front  and  kept  the  lead  until  he 
had  won  the  race. 

An  amusing  little  story  is  told  of  Sound  Money,  a  horse 
owned  by  Alf  Oldham,  of  Louisville,  when  he  won  a  race  at 
20  to  I  at  Latonia.  I  do  not  vouch  for  the  truthfulness  of  the 
story,  but  it  was  told  me  by  a  gentleman  who  claims  to  have 
heard  of  it  at  the  time.  Oldham  had  in  his  employ  a  little 
negro  exercise  boy,  who  had  by  dint  of  the  most  rigid  econo- 
my accumulated  $2  in  actual  cash,  and  this  lad  thought  that 
Sound  Money  was  the  greatest  race  horse  that  ever  set  foot 
on  a  track. 

In  reality  Sound  Money  was  windbroken  and  about  on 
his  last  legs.  He  was  once  a  very  fair  skate,  but  his  useful- 
ness had  been  impaired  by  enlarged  glands.  Could  this 
defect  have  been  remedied  he  would  have  been  a  first-class 
plater  and  might  have  made  his  owner  rich. 

Mr.  Oldham  sent  the  horse  to  Latonia  and  thought  he 
might  be  good  enough  to  win  a  race.  One  day  he  thought 
he  had  him  fit,  but  he  was  mistaken,  and  he  and  his  friends 
dropped  their  coin  on  him  at  short  odds,  for  the  tip  had 
gone  out  that  he  was  sure  to  win.  The  little  black  boy, 
however,  held  off,  and  he  did  not  bet  his  hoard  until  the 
next  time  the  horse  started.  Then  he  put  it  all  down  on 
Sound  Money  at  20  to  i.  Mr.  Oldham  thought  so  little  of 
his  horse's  chances  that  he  bet  on  another  horse  in  the  race. 
The  horse  got  off  fairly  well  and  jogged  along  not  far 
behind  the  favorite  and  second  choice.  He  seemed  about 
done  for  when  he  reached  the  head  of  the  stretch,  but  he 
was  not  aware  that  he  had  two  riders.  One  was  on  his  back, 
Silvers,  and  the  other  was  on  the  fence  at  this  point.     The 


82 

negro  had  a  small  pea-shooter  in  one  hand  and  a  dozen 
beans  in  the  other.  As  soon  as  the  time  came  for  Sound 
Money  to  make  his  run,  if  he  was  ever  going  to  do  it,  the 
lad  began  firing  the  beans  at  him  from  the  little  gun.  Every 
one  struck  him  in  the  right  spot,  and  the  way  he  got  a  hustle 
on  himself  and  stepped  to  the  front  was  a  caution.  In  a  few 
jumps  he  was  in  the  lead,  and  going  at  such  a  rate  of  speed 
that  nothing  could  overtake  him.  He  won  the  race  handily 
from  the  heavily-backed  favorite. 

"  Now,  who  would  have  ever  thought  the  old  horse  was 
good  enough  to  win  that  race  ?  "  said  Mr.  Oldham  disgustedly, 
as  he  stood  at  the  stable  watching  a  groom  bring  in  Sound 
Money. 

"  I  did,  boss,"  said  the  negro.  "  I  had  my  pile  on  him, 
and  I  made  him  win." 

"  How  did  you  do  it  ?  ''  was  asked. 

"  Jes'  shot  him  wif  beans  as  he  comes  inter  de  stretch," 
said  the  boy.     "  Ise  got  'bout  fohty-two  dollahs,  I  specs.'' 

Al  Spink,  a  sporting  writer  of  the  West,  tells  a  good  story 
of  how  he  once  saved  his  life  and  that  of  his  jockey  by  a 
clever  trick.  He  was  in  St.  Louis  with  a  string  of  outlawed 
horses  at  the  closing  of  the  old  Southside  electric  light  track, 
and  not  a  cent  in  his  pockets.  By  some  means  he  succeeded 
in  persuading  the  railroad  agent  to  ship  his  horses  to  Cairo 
and  give  him  a  free  pass  to  the  same  place.  A  fair  was  going 
on  in  the  little  Illinois  city,  and  it  was  Al's  intention  to  make 
a  book  and  run  his  horses  there.  When  he  reached  the  city 
he  secured  boarding  quarters  for  himself  and  his  jockey  and 
obtained  credit  for  feed  for  his  horses.  Among  the  animals 
he  took  with  him  was  one  known  as  Our  Flossie.  She  was  a 
filly  with  chain  lightning  in  her  heels  and  as  dainty  a  look- 
ing little  creature  as  one  would  wish  to  see. 

On  the  day  of  the  fair  opening  a  lot  of  towboatmen  had 
just  been  discharged  from  their  boats,  there  having  been  a 
coal  run  in  the  Ohio,  and  they  were  about  the  city  spending 
the  money  they  had  earned  by  the  hardest  kind  of  work  for 
the  past  two  months.  They  all  went  to  the  fair  and  were 
all  ready  to  bet  their  money.  Al  mounted  the  block  and 
chalked  up  his  odds  on  the  first  race.  He  put  4  to  i  against 
Our  Flossie,  and  the  steam  boatmen  and  everybody  else  gob- 
bled it  up  as  fast  as  possible.     There  was  a  scattering  play 


83 

on  the  others,  but  it  did  not  amount  to  much,  and  the  penni- 
less bookmaker  realized  that  he  was  in  a  serious  predica- 
ment. He  knew  his  horse  could  run  all  over  the  others  in 
the  race,  and  he  called  his  jockey  to  him. 

"  If  you  win  this  race,"  he  said,  "  I  will  not  be  able  to 
pay  off,  and  these  fellows  will  lynch  both  of  us.  If  they 
catch  you  pulling,  they  will  lynch  you.  Now,  you  must  get 
the  worst  of  the  start  and  do  your  best  in  a  quiet  way  to 
lose." 

"  But  if  I  see  he  can't  help  but  win,"  pleaded  the  jockey. 

"  Then  fall  off." 

"  I  might  get  killed  that  way,  too,"  said  the  rider. 

"  That  don't  make  any  difference,"  was  the  reply.  "  You 
must  lose." 

Our  Flossie  got  off  absolutely  last,  and  the  boy  was 
doing  his  best  to  keep  her  in  that  position,  but  she  suddenly 
got  it  into  her  head  to  make  a  run  for  it,  and  she  did  so. 
Away  she  went  after  the  leaders  at  lightning  speed  and  was 
fast  gaining  on  them.  The  boy  was  praying  for  the  safety  of 
his  master,  for  he  thought  there  was  absolutely  no  chance 
for  him  to  lose.  He  pulled  her  gently,  but  she  only  ran  the 
faster.  At  every  leap  she  was  nearer  to  the  tiring  leader, 
but  she  did  not  quite  overtake  him  and  lost  by  a  head. 

"  Boy,"  said  one  of  the  toughest  of  the  steamboatmen, 
"you  made  a  good  race,  and  if  you  had  got  off  even  you 
would  have  won  sure.  Don't  be  discouraged.  You'll  win 
some  time." 

When  I  was  out  in  Montana  I  heard  a  good  story  of  In- 
dian sagacity.  Bob  Smith,  of  Tennessee,  had  been  going 
every  year  to  Milk  River,  on  the  upper  Missouri,  in  the  Dako- 
tas,  and  winning  the  furs  of  an  Indian  chieftain  named  Cof- 
fee. The  latter  was  a  natural  born  turfman,  and  had  he  been 
living  in  the  civilized  part  of  the  world  he  would  have  had 
a  string  of  some  kind  at  least.  He  was  as  game  as  a  pebble, 
and  for  several  years  he  permitted  Smith  to  come  up  and  win 
his  furs  at  horse  racing.  Smith  would  bring  a  good  horse 
with  him,  race  the  Indian,  win  his  furs,  and  then  sell  him  the 
horse.  The  next  year  he  would  return  with  a  better  horse, 
race  against  the  one  he  had  sold  the  previous  year,  and  again 
win  the  money.  Finally  the  Indian  began  to  get  tired  of 
this  sort  of  procedure. 


84 

For  a  year  he  drilled  his  Indian  starters  and  judges,  and 
then  Smith  arrived.  They  raced  for  an  immense  pile  of  furs 
against  a  lot  of  guns,  provisions  and  ammunition.  At  the 
finish  the  Indian  judges  came  forward  and  said  Smith's 
horse  had  won  by  about  a  head.  Smith  was  ready  to  collect 
the  stakes  when  the  Indians  at  the  start  came  forward  and 
declared  that  Smith  got  off  by  about  five  feet  the  best.  In 
those  days  they  measured  up  the  start  and  finish,  and  the 
best  horse  won. 

"You  red-skinned  devil,"  said  Smith,  "you  know  you 
have  been  training  those  scoundrels  to  do  that  for  a  year 
past.'' 

But  the  bet  stood  all  right  and  Coffee  collected  the  stakes. 
It  was  the  last  time  Smith  ever  brought  a  horse  to  that 
country. 


CHAPTER  XIL 
How  to  Ride. 

That  the  jockeys  of  the  present  are  not  as  good  as  those 
of  the  past  is  apparent  even  to  the  most  unsophisticated 
mind.  In  the  olden  times  the  boys  were  better  judges  of 
pace,  obeyed  instructions  more  closely  and  tried  harder  to 
win  than  they  do  now.  Pulling  and  unfairness  of  any  kind 
was  comparatively  unknown. 

Had  a  boy  of  the  old  regime  pulled  a  horse  or  otherwise 
contrived  to  make  him  lose,  his  master  would  have  pulled 
him  off  and  given  him  the  worst  licking  a  lad  ever  had. 
Now  the  owner  has  no  recourse,  and  he  may  see  his  horse 
lose  through  the  deliberate  machinations  of  the  rider  with- 
out being  able  to  say  a  word  against  it. 

Many  a  time  an  owner  would  set  a  little  negro  rider  on 
the  back  of  a  horse  he  knew  could  win  and  tell  him  if  he  did 
not  bring  the  animal  in  first  past  the  post  he  would  kill  him, 
and  he  meant  it,  too.  It  was  worth  as  much  as  a  boy's  life 
to  not  do  his  level  best. 

The  short  distances  of  to-day  have  much  to  do  with  the 
difference  in  the  quality  of  the  riding.  But  the  boys  of  long 
ago,  when  all  racing  was  fair,  seemed  to  be  better  judges  of 
pace,  and  they  knew  how  to  husband  the  strength  of  the 
animals  they  bestrode.  Now,  in  the  short  dashes,  it  is  simply 
a  hustle  and  scramble  to  get  off  in  front.  Much  of  the  igno- 
rance on  the  part  of  the  boys  is  brought  about  by  trainers 
who  have  never  been  riders  themselves  and  do  not  know  how 
to  instruct  and  teach  a  jockey.  "  Get  away  in  front  and 
hustle  home"  is  about  all  the  average  trainer  says  to  the 
boy,  and  the  latter  sometimes  tries  to  do  as  he  is  told.  If 
the  horse  does  not  happen  to  be  in  the  very  best  shape  and 
anxious  to  run  himself,  he  cannot  depend  on  the  skill  of  the 
rider  to  pull  him  through. 

The  trainer  forgets  that  it  is  pace  that  kills.  Lexing- 
ton, if  he  had  been  pushed  from  the  very  first,  would  have 
done  a  half  in  :  48,  but  he  would  have  begun  to  tire  and  any 
horse  of  his  time  could  have  plodded  along  and  beat  him. 


86 

The  trainer,  as  well  as  the  boy,  should  use  judgment.  The 
pace  must  be  graduated  so  as  to  fit  the  conditions  of  the 
horse  and  rider.  The  fight  to  "  come  through  the  nearest 
way  "  is  what  loses  many  a  rider  a  race  that  he  tries  honestly 
to  win. 

The  jockey  should  be  taught  that  every  inch  of  an  angle 
he  makes  in  coming  home  must  tax  the  strength  of  the  horse 
and  lessen  his  chances  at  the  finish.  That  strength  would 
be  left  in  him  and  proper  judgment  been  used,  and  he  would 
have  had  it  with  which  to  finish  at  the  wire. 

In  entering  the  head  of  the  stretch  the  jockey  should  be 
taught  to  avoid  making  an  angle,  and  should  take  a  bee  line 
for  the  wire.  Every  foot  of  ground  at  this  point  tells  on 
him,  for  this  angle  makes  him  run  more  than  sixty  feet  more 
than  he  should.  When  trailing  behind  two  horses  that  are 
running  abreast  the  jockey  should  wait  until  the  horses  split 
at  the  turn,  which  they  are  sure  to  do,  and  then  come 
through  between  them  and  save  the  turn. 

If  there  is  any  fear  in  a  boy's  composition,  he  has  no 
business  on  a  horse.  Still,  there  are  are  lots  of  timid  boys 
who  become  good  riders,  after  having  overcome  that  fear 
of  a  horse  that  they  first  entertained.  Courage  and  confi- 
dence are  the  prime  requisites,  and  the  whole  effort  of  the 
trainer  must  be  to  instill  these  two  properties  into  the  lad 
who  aspires  to  become  a  jockey. 

A  timid  boy  thrown  from  a  vicious  horse  would  stand  a 
much  greater  chance  of  being  hurt  than  one  who  had  all  his 
wits  about  him  and  was  watching  for  a  soft  place  in  which 
to  fall. 

When  placed  in  the  saddle  by  a  trainer  a  boy  should  be 
first  taught  how  to  hold  the  reins.  Then  he  should  be 
informed  of  the  method  by  which  he  may  cling  with  his 
knees  to  the  sides  of  the  horse. 

In  the  event  the  horse  is  a  plunger  and  one  that  is  apt 
to  rear  and  endeavor  to  shake  him  off,  the  boy  must  be 
taught  to  keep  the  head  of  the  animal  up.  This  is  a  very 
essential  point,  for  in  case  it  is  not  remembered  distinctly 
the  boy  is  liable  at  any  time  to  let  the  horse  get  the  mastery 
and  run  away  with  him.  This  may  result  disastrously  to 
both  the  boy  and  the  animal.  Therefore,  a  trainer  can  not 
be  too  careful  in  this  respect. 


87 

If  the  horse  stops  suddenly  while  in  a  fit  of  viciousness, 
the  lad  should  loosen  the  reins  and  cling  to  the  mane.  In 
case  he  held  to  the  reins  and  pulled  him,  the  animal  might 
be  thrown  off  his  balance  and  fall  back  on  the  boy.  This 
would  happen  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  and 
much  trouble  may  be  saved  by  a  trainer  apprising  a  boy  of 
this  fact  in  time. 

The  next  thing  to  teach  a  boy  is  to  avoid  obstacles  on 
the  track.  When  he  has  mastered  this  feature  he  may  be 
permitted  to  trot  and  walk  horses  about  the  track.  Of 
course,  the  idea  is  that  the  boy  has  had  some  experience 
and  knows  how  to  hold  his  seat,  for  no  absolutely  green 
boys  are  ever  taken. 

In  galloping,  the  boy  should  always  keep  a  firm  hold  of 
the  reins  in  order  to  always  have  control  of  the  animal. 
Slow  gallops  should  be  kept  up  for  more  than  a  month,  for 
the  reason  that  in  the  event  the  horse  was  sent  along  at  a 
good  rate  of  speed  the  boy  might  lose  his  own  confidence  and 
let  the  horse  get  the  better  of  him.  Then  the  boy  would 
lose  all  the  knowledge  you  had  spent  so  much  time  in  teach- 
ing him,  and  it  might  take  months  to  restore  it. 

By  this  time  the  boy  has  learned  in  a  measure  how  to 
protect  himself  and  has  learned  something  of  what  he  may 
expect  of  a  horse.  He  can  gallop,  avoid  bad  places  in  the 
track,  keep  out  of  the  way  of  other  horses  that  are  being 
sent  along  for  trials,  and  is  not  afraid  of  the  horses. 

Keep  the  boy  on  one  horse  all  the  time,  for  changing 
off  on  animals  of  a  different  temperament  can  not  result 
efficaciously.  His  ideas  then  become  fixed  and  he  gets 
accustomed  to  the  race  horse. 

If  he  is  a  bright  boy,  at  the  expiration  of  two  months  he 
may  be  changed  to  another  horse.  In  no  stable  are  there 
two  horses  that  have  the  same  habits  and  dispositions. 
Therefore,  the  boy  must  become  acquainted  with  the  differ- 
ent varieties. 

In  due  time  he  learns  how  to  manage  a  horse  tolerably 
well,  and  the  trainer  is  not  afraid  to  put  him  on  any  horse  in 
the  string.  But  he  is  far  from  being  a  jockey  even  then,  for 
he  has  not  learned  the  more  delicate  points  of  the  game. 

When  he  is  able  to  gallop  a  horse  at  the  highest  speed  of 
the  animal,  the  trainer  must  begin  to  instill  into  his  mind 


88 

some  idea  of  judging  the  pace  at  which  he  is  going.  This 
is  a  most  difficult  matter,  and  there  is  not  one  boy  out  of  a 
hundred  that  ever  learns  it.  However,  there  are  some. 
Isaac  Murphy,  the  famous  negro  jockey,  was  one  of  the  best 
judges  of  pace  on  the  American  turf.  He  could  tell  to 
almost  the  fraction  of  a  second  just  how  fast  a  horse  under 
him  was  going.  That  is  one  of  the  things  that  brought 
him  fame. 

I,  therefore,  urge  that  when  a  trainer  sends  a  boy  out 
for  a  fast  quarter,  half  or  mile,  he  should  afterward  tell  him 
just  how  fast  he  was  going,  in  order  that  the  lad  may  form 
some  idea  for  himself.  This  is  the  way  to  make  a  real 
jockey,  and  the  only  course  to  follow  if  a  trainer  is  really  in 
earnest  with  the  boy.  I  have  known  good  jockeys  and  boys 
who  won  many  races  who  had  not  the  slightest  idea  how 
fast  they  were  going.  These  were  exceptions.  They 
would  never  have  won  in  a  race  of  the  olden  time,  when  the 
distances  were  greater  than  they  are  now.  Any  of  the 
smart  little  negroes  of  Murphy's  time  could  have  made  the 
best  of  these  "  get-off-quick-and-come-home  boys  "  look  very 
cheap. 

But  the  style  of  riding  and  the  distances  have  changed, 
together  with  the  horses.  At  the  same  time  these  points 
are  all  essential  even  now.  Tod  Sloan  observes  them. 
They  are  not  foreign  to  Lester  and  John  Reiff,  Thomas 
Burns,  Winnie  O'Connor  and  a  host  of  other  good  ones 
that  might  be  mentioned. 

Pace  must  be  taught  the  lad  to  make  him  a  real,  dyed-in- 
the-wool  jockey.  In  the  meantime  he  must  of  his  own  vo- 
lition and  natural  aptitude  become  acquainted  with  the  habits 
of  the  horse.  He  must  learn  to  feel  out  the  animal  and  tell 
about  what  amount  of  endurance  there  is  in  the  horse.  Of 
course,  in  no  case  would  a  jockey  or  rider  be  able  to  tell 
anything  of  a  horse's  condition  or  ability  the  first  time  he 
was  placed  upon  him.  The  trainer  alone  is  supposed  to 
know  this,  but  beyond  his  information  there  is  something 
the  boy  must  learn  and  something  the  trainer  does  not 
know.  That  is,  at  exactly  the  point  the  horse  will  begin  to 
get  tired.  The  boy  feels  this  tiredness  on  the  part  of  the 
horse  and  realizes  it  by  intuition,  but  the  trainer  gets  his 
information    second-handed.       Therefore,   there   are   some 


89 

things  on  which  the  lad  is  better  informed  than  the  man 
who  has  the  horse  in  training. 

But  there  is  another  and  most  vital  point  to  be  consid- 
ered, and  that  is  the  lad's  nerve  in  a  race.  It  would  be  folly 
to  permit  him  to  gallop  a  few  horses  about  the  track,  be  able 
to  keep  a  firm  seat  and  have  control  of  a  horse,  and  then 
start  him  in  a  race.  He  would  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a 
hundred  be  scared  to  death  before  he  got  away  from  the 
post.  I  doubt  if  he  could  get  away  at  all,  and  if  he  did  he 
would  be  liable  to  run  his  horse  the  wrong  way  a  half  mile 
or  more  before  he  discovered  his  mistake. 

The  trainer  must  send  the  boy  along  with  a  couple  ot 
others  for  a  sort  of  an  impromptu  race.  Other  owners  who 
are  anxious  to  see  what  their  two-year-olds  will  do  will  often 
agree  to  these  little  races  between  their  horses,  and  thus  the 
lad  who  has  started  in  to  become  a  jockey  gets  an  insight 
into  how  to  get  off  quickly  and  what  to  do  when  he  is  off. 
He  has  learned  by  constant  riding  just  what  to  expect  of  the 
horse,  and  he  will  try  his  best  to  win. 

Perhaps  in  two  years  the  boy  is  ready  to  ride  in  a  race, 
and  he  appears  before  the  clerk  of  the  scales,  clad  in  all  the 
gorgeous  colors  of  the  man  in  whose  employ  he  is.  As  a 
general  thing  the  trainer  has  given  the  boy  the  chance  in 
order  to  get  him  accustomed  to  getting  away  from  the  post, 
for  this  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  feats  he  must  be  taught. 
There  are  boys  on  the  track  and  riding  every  day  now  who 
will  never  learn  this  point,  and  they  are  daily  betraying 
their  ignorance,  yet  they  secure  mounts  in  some  manner 
from  ignorant  trainers  and  owners. 

When  the  lad  is  put  up  for  his  first  race  the  horse  is 
usually  of  an  inferior  class  and  is  just  put  in  the  race  in 
order  to  assist  in  getting  both  the  boy  and  the  horse  in  con- 
dition. But  it  may  be  that  the  boy  is  one  of  exceptional 
promise,  that  he  has  shown  marked  aptitude  for  the  work, 
and  has  swept  far  ahead  of  the  other  exercise  boys.  In  this 
case  I  would  recommend,  as  in  the  case  of  Russell  Ramson 
of  late  years,  to  put  him  on  a  superior  horse  and  let  him  win 
his  first  race.  This  will  give  him  confidence  and  make  him 
believe  that  it  is  not  such  a  difficult  matter  after  all  to  win 
races  if  a  boy  exerts  himself  to  his  utmost.  He  begins  to 
figure  in  the  next  race  where  he  has  a  mount  how  to  at  least 


9° 

come  inside  the  money  and  assist  his  owner.  This  boy  is 
interested.  He  has  determined  to  become  a  jockey,  and  he 
is  going  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  accomplish  that  end. 

But  when  he  gets  to  the  saddle,  and  is  ready  to  go  to 
the  post  with  the  instructions  of  the  trainer  ringing  in  his 
ears,  he  is,  of  course,  all  a-tremble.  If  the  horse  he  has  under 
him  is  a  slow  beginner,  the  lad  is  told  to  hurry  him  along 
into  a  good  position  and  never  get  out  of  striking  distance. 
Then  to  begin  to  make  his  run  at  the  last  quarter,  no  matter 
what  the  distance  may  be.  As  has  been  said  before,  he  must 
avoid  angles  and  get  home  the  nearest  way,  as  the  trainers 
put  it.  If  he  runs  wide  at  any  turn,  he  has  lost  just  that 
much  ground. 

I  would  not  advise  any  boy  to  go  out  and  set  the  pace 
if  he  can  help  it,  save  in  short  dashes.  Then  the  start  means 
everything  on  a  poor  horse.  The  trainer,  however,  must 
be  the  judge  of  this,  and  he  must  tell  the  boy  just  what  the 
horse  will  be  able  to  do.  Then  the  rider  knows  he  must 
take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  improve  the  chances 
of  his  mount.     If  he  is  an  honest  boy,  he  will  do  so. 

Pockets  are  what  are  to  be  most  carefully  avoided  for 
your  own  horse  ;  but  it  is  a  very  good  idea,  if  you  can  do  so, 
to  so  ride  the  inferior  horse  that  you  will  be  able  to  pocket 
the  superior  animal  and  win  from  him.  But  this  is  one  of 
the  tricks  that  the  novice  has  not  acquired.  It  will  come  to 
him  later  if  he  is  observant.  No  trainer  will  be  able  to  teach 
him  this,  for  no  two  races  are  ever  run  exactly  alike  and 
under  the  same  conditions.  A  horse  may  get  off  well  placed, 
far  in  front  or  almost  left  at  the  post  without  regard  to  his 
speed,  and  there  can  be  no  set  rules  for  playing  a  neat  trick 
and  winning  on  a  dark  horse  or  long  shot.  Circumstances 
govern  all  such  cases,  and  the  boy  must  judge  for  himself 
what  is  best  to  do. 

I  would  suggest  as  a  parting  admonition  that  the  boy 
keep  as  cool  and  collected  as  possible,  never  forgetting  for  a 
moment  the  capabilities  of  the  horse  under  him,  always 
watching  what  the  others  are  doing  and  looking  for  a 
chance  to  forge  ahead  at  the  finish. 

A  boy  to  keep  in  condition  should  ride  as  often  as  pos- 
sible. If  he  can  ride  six  or  ten  races  a  week,  it  is  all  the  bet- 
ter for  him.     The  longer  he  remains  on  the  ground  the 


91 

worse  it  is  for  his  ability,  no  matter  how  great  he  may  be- 
come as  a  jockey.  If  he  is  not  riding  in  public  and  getting 
paid  for  it,  he  should  exercise  in  the  mornings.  Any  owner 
would  be  glad  to  give  him  the  chance.  He  should  avoid  the 
use  of  intoxicants,  never  smoke,  chew  tobacco  or  keep  late 
hours.  These  are  the  drains  that  draw  the  life  blood  from 
the  veins  of  a  lad  that  might  become  great  could  he  but 
overcome  the  evils. 

In  reducing  weight  purgatives  may  be  used,  sweaters 
put  on  producing  violent  perspiration,  long  walks  and  trots 
taken,  and  even  the  Turkish  bath  is  made  use  of.  But  there 
is  no  especial  method  that  will  apply  to  all  boys.  Turkish 
baths  are  so  frightfully  weakening  that  I  would  not  recom- 
mend this  system  to  any  one,  but  it  is  a  vigorous  and  quick 
way  of  reducing  the  flesh. 

Every  jockey  should  try  to  be  a  gentleman,  should  be 
honest,  sober  and  careful  in  all  he  does.  If  he  adheres  to 
these  principles,  he  will  leave  behind  him  a  name  that  his 
descendants  may  point  to  with  pride.  I  would  say  in  this 
connection  that  I  believe  Tod  Sloan  to  be  all  this  and  more. 
There  are  others,  however,  and  their  names  will  live  for 
many  years  after  they  have  retired  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
their  early  industry. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 
How  to  Breed. 

While  racing  has  grown  to  almost  stalwart  proportions 
in  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  breeding  is  not  now  carried  on  as  judiciously 
as  it  might  be.  That  is  why  the  class  of  the  horse  is 
deteriorating. 

In  the  olden  times  the  breeders  gave  more  attention  to 
the  subject  than  they  do  now,  and  they  were  more  careful 
in  their  matings.  When  a  man  had  a  mare  that  was  weak  in 
one  point  he  invariably  bred  her  to  a  stallion  that  made  up 
for  this  defect,  and  the  result  was  that  the  progeny  was 
brought  forth  in  almost  faultless  condition. 

This  careful  judgment  has  produced  the  horses  of  to-day 
that  are  winning  the  purses  and  stakes  from  one  end  of  the 
continent  to  the  other.  I  could  name  a  hundred  horses  now 
that  are  useless  simply  because  their  breeding  was  de- 
fective. The  idea  seems  to  be  to  breed  a  mare  to  any 
stallion  without  regard  to  his  or  her  temperament. 

It  is  to  this  carelessness  that  the  sturdy  hardihood  is 
being  lost.  The  whole  idea  is  to  secure  speed  without 
regard  to  durability.  If  a  horse  is  able  to  step  out  and  win 
a  few  stakes,  he  is  considered  as  having  performed  his  part 
and  the  one  for  which  he  was  intended.  As  a  point  in  illus- 
tration I  would  mention  the  case  of  Halma,  truly  a  fine 
animal.  He  is  fine  of  form,  as  pretty  as  a  picture,  and  is  of 
royal  blood.  When  he  came  down  from  Lexington  to  run 
for  the  Louisville  Derby  he  was  truly  an  animal  fair  to  see, 
and  every  turfman  who  saw  him  fell  in  love  with  him.  It 
was  impossible  for  a  man  to  look  at  this  colt,  see  him  work, 
notice  his  graceful  movements,  and  then  fail  to  at  least  have 
a  desire  to  bet  on  his  chances. 

See  what  he  did.  He  won  the  Louisville  Derby  with- 
out even  extending  himself,  and  when  he  passed  under  the 
wire  he  shook  his  black  head  with  the  air  of  a  king.  It  is, 
therefore,  no  wonder  that  Julius  Fleischmann,  of  Cincinnati, 


93 

one  of  the  most  enterprising  turfmen  of  the  country,  pur- 
chased him  and  paid  the  liberal  price  of  $25,000  for  him. 

Halma  was  a  great  performer  on  the  turf  for  a  few  short 
months,  and  then  he  broke  down  under  the  terrific  strain  to 
which  he  was  subjected.  After  becoming  the  property  of 
Mr.  Fleischmann  he  did  not  win  a  race  of  any  consequence. 
He  simply  lacked  the  strength  to  stand  the  training.  Had 
he  been  bred  for  strength  as  well  as  speed,  he  would  have 
probably  been  one  of  the  fastest  and  most  successful  horses 
on  the  turf.  He  would  have  earned  his  owner  thousands  of 
dollars  and  paid  for  himself  a  hundred  times  over.  He  is 
now  in  the  stud,  and  his  get  are  coming  to  the  front 
through  the  judicious  breeding  of  the  proper  kind  of  mares 
to  him.  Halma  has  the  strains  of  the  best  blood  in  the 
land  in  his  veins,  and  his  progeny  ought  to  further  distin- 
guish him. 

Then  there  was  Lieutenant  Gibson,  the  son  of  lost  Silk 
Gown.  Gibson  bade  fair  to  become  a  grand  race  horse,  for 
he  had  it  in  him  to  be  one,  but  he  lacked  the  strength  that 
characterized  his  ancestors.  Lieutenant  Gibson  won  the 
Louisville  Derby  and  then  went  wrong.  He  could  not  stand 
training. 

These  are  only  a  couple  of  cases  that  occur  to  me  at  the 
present  time,  but  there  are  a  host  of  others  that  might  be 
mentioned. 

Then,  on  the  same  point,  let  us  take  the  case  of  the 
mighty  Ten  Broeck.  He  was  a  racer  of  superior  class.  He 
left  a  record  that  for  many  years  was  unequaled,  and  there 
is  not  a  turfman  of  to-day  but  remembers  of  his  splendid 
battles  for  supremacy  over  the  best  horses  of  his  time.  Look 
at  his  get  in  the  stud.  But  one  or  two  succeeded.  Bersan 
was  a  truly  wonderful  performer,  as  was  Teuton  and  Ten- 
stone. 

The  dam  of  Bersan  was  Belle  Knight,  a  light,  agile 
mare,  full  of  fire  and  vigor.  She  was  as  fast  as  a  flash  of 
lightning  and  was  just  the  kind  of  an  animal  that  should 
have  gone  to  his  embrace.  Lizzie  Stone,  the  dam  of  Ten- 
stone,  had  the  same  conformity  and  was  full  of  speed.  This 
was  equally  true  in  the  case  of  Teuton.  But,  strange  as  it 
may  seem.  Ten  Broeck  got  no  others  that  were  above  the 


94 

mediocre  class.       Some  of  them   won  races,  but  they  did 
nothing  to  attract  especial  attention. 

The  fault  lies  in  the  fact  that  no  care  was  exercised  in 
the  mating.  Heavy,  bulky  mares  were  bred  to  him,  and  he 
got  a  class  of  horses  that  inherited  all  the  bad  traits  of  the 
dams  and  but  few  of  their  illustrious  sire's.  The  mistake 
was  made  in  breeding  Ten  Broeck  to  such  a  class  of  mares 
The  animals  he  should  have  had  should  all  have  been  light, 
fast  and  vigorous.  In  the  event  the  mare  was  of  a  vicious 
temperament  or  nervous  to  a  marked  extent,  the  docility  of 
the  sire  would  have  offset  this  in  the  progeny.  But  every 
owner  was  anxious  to  breed  his  mare  to  Ten  Broeck  because 
he  was  a  noted  performer  and  because  they  thought  it 
would  add  to  the  value  of  the  produce  if  the  Ten  Broeck 
blood  coursed  through  their  veins. 

A  man  having  a  mare  that  he  desires  to  breed  to  a  stal- 
lion must  first  take  into  consideration  all  the  weak  points  of 
the  mare  herself.  He  must  give  them  careful  thought  and 
must  not  omit  a  single  detail.  Then  he  should  consider  the 
points  of  the  stallion.  If  his  mare  is  gentle,  speedy  and  a 
sprinter,  he  should  select  a  stallion  that  is  full  of  good  tem- 
per and  strength.  This  is  necessary  in  order  to  get  all  of 
these  requisites  in  the  foal.  Then  the  greatest  discretion 
should  be  used  in  bringing  together  the  sexes.  Of  course, 
the  first  thing  needed  is  a  groom  who  knows  how  to  educate 
the  stallion  to  approach  the  mare  in  a  gentle  manner.  No 
man  owning  a  stallion  that  is  making  a  season  should  neglect 
this  very  essential  point.  He  should  use  the  utmost  dis- 
crimination in  the  selection  of  the  groom  who  is  to  have 
charge  of  the  stallion. 

When  the  stallion  is  brought  out  he  should  be  perfectly 
broken.  If  he  is  a  vicious  and  rushing  animal,  he  should  be 
held  in  check,  so  that  the  operation  may  be  a  natural  one.  If  the 
mare  is  a  timid  creature,  no  matter  how  passionate  she  may 
be,  the  stallion  may  frighten  her,  and  the  result  is  frequently 
that  she  will  slink.  Then  the  groom  should  be  able  to  judge 
whether  or  not  she  has  caught.  In  the  event  he  is  unable 
to  make  a  good  prediction  of  her  condition,  he  may  breed 
her  to  another  stallion  when  in  reality  she  has  caught  by  the 
first.  Then  the  first  or  second  stallion  may  have  been  too 
vicious,  and  the  foal  is  lost. 


95 

I  took  a  mare  called  Too  Soon,  a  noted  animal  as  a  brood 
mare,  and  when  I  got  her  Dr.  Warfield,  of  Kentucky,  added 
a  footnote  to  the  bill  of  sale  in  which  he  said  he  believed  the 
mare  to  be  barren.  I  had  looked  her  over  and  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  she  was  not  barren,  but  that  the  grooms 
who  had  managed  her  did  not  understand  her.  She  was 
timid,  and  while  she  would  accept  any  stallion  at  any  time, 
she  always  went  to  him  scared  and  full  of  nervousness. 

Under  my  care  she  passed  another  year,  and  then  she 
was  bred  to  a  stallion.  I  saw  that  he  was  well  broken  and 
watched  the  operation.  I  saw  that  she  was  not  frightened 
and  that  she  was  not  injured  by  the  stallion.  The  result  was 
that  she  produced  a  foal,  and  the  next  year  she  did  the 
same.  Never  after  that  did  she  fail,  and  some  of  her  prod- 
uce made  great  reputations  as  race  horses ;  for  instance, 
Garrett  Davis,  Jim  Watson  and  Calleroo,  all  of  whom  came 
afterward. 

Another  point  that  must  be  given  consideration  is  the 
care  of  the  mare  after  she  has  caught.  She  should  not  be 
kept  in  the  quarters  where  she  was  formerly  if  there  are 
other  horses  around.  The  groom  should  take  her  at  least 
half  a  mile  away,  where  there  will  not  be  the  slightest  odor 
of  the  operation  through  which  she  has  just  passed.  She 
must  be  perfectly  isolated.  It  is  better  not  to  let  her  see  a 
horse  or  even  a  gelding,  for  it  will  make  her  more  passionate 
than  she  was  at  the  time  in  question.  This  state  must  now 
be  gotten  rid  of,  for  the  purpose  has  been  accomplished  and 
she  is  with  foal.  At  the  end  of  three  days  she  will  be  her- 
self again,  and  the  result  is  that  the  foal  she  brings  forth  is 
sturdy  and  robust. 

This  is  a  matter  that  is  not  generally  taken  into  consid- 
eration. Hundreds  of  foals  have  been  lost  or  their  value 
impaired  by  the  groom  in  charge  of  the  mare  not  knowing 
exactly  what  he  should  do.  The  mare  ought  to  then  receive 
the  very  best  attention.  This  thing  of  scaring  her,  keeping 
her  in  the  company  of  other  horses  during  her  pregnancy, 
and  disregarding  her  comfort,  may  cause  her  to  slink  and 
perhaps  injure  her  ability  as  a  brood  mare.  One  season  of 
carelessness  may  ruin  her  for  all  time.  Therefore,  when  a 
man  pays  from  $50  to  $250  for  a  stallion's  services,  he  may 


96 

not  only  lose  the  money  he  has  invested  for  the  service,  but 
he  may  lose  the  foal  and  the  mare  as  well. 

How  many  of  the  breeders  of  to-day  are  there  who  con 
sider  all  these  little  intricacies?  Not  more  than  a  dozen,  to 
give  a  big  margin.  Of  course,  there  are  stock  farms  where 
such  things  are  known  all  over  the  United  States  ;  but  there 
are  hundreds  where  they  are  not  observed,  and  the  result  is 
that  an  inferior  class  of  horses  is  produced,  often  where  the 
mating  has  been  perfect  and  good  foals  should  have  been  ob- 
tained. I  could  mention  many  of  these  instances  now,  but  I 
do  not  care  to  say  anything  against  a  man  who  is  in  the  busi- 
ness for  the  purpose  of  earning  a  livelihood.  A  peculiar  fea- 
ture of  it,  too,  is  that  this  carelessness  is  observed  in  men 
above  the  average  in  intelligence.  They  think  all  that  is 
necessary  is  for  the  stallion  to  receive  the  mare  in  his  em- 
brace and  then  return  to  the  stable  and  go  on  with  her  usual 
work  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Something  has  happened 
and  another  race  horse  is  to  be  born  into  the  world.  Whether 
this  animal  shall  be  of  high  class  depends  wholly  upon  the 
treatment  she  receives  at  the  hands  of  the  groom  who  has 
her  in  his  care. 

To  sum  it  all  up,  the  mare's  peculiarities,  both  bad  and 
good,  must  be  carefully  gone  over ;  then  those  of  the  stallion 
and  lastly,  but  not  least,  the  grooms  handling  both  the  ani- 
mals must  have  been  well  instructed. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
How  to  Buy  a  Horse. 

When  a  man  concludes  to  purchase  a  horse  for  racing 
purposes  there  are  many  important  points  to  be  considered. 
Arriving  at  the  scene  of  the  sale,  where  there  are  a  large 
number  of  yearlings  offered,  he  looks  carefully  over  the 
bunch. 

If  he  is  not  a  man  who  knows  all  there  is  to  know  about 
horses,  he  should  have  some  one  with  him  who  is  versed  in 
such  matters.  This  is  necessary  to  avoid  as  far  as  possible 
the  making  of  mistakes. 

The  first  thing  that  should  be  done  in  the  selection  of  a 
horse  is  to  see  that  he  is  perfectly  sound.  The  man  offering 
him  for  sale  should  be  made  to  walk  and  trot  him  up  and 
down  the  street,  paddock  or  place  where  the  sale  is  held.  It 
sometimes  happens  that  a  colt  is  injured  in  his  infancy  in  such 
a  way  that  the  injury  is  not  at  first  apparent  because  of  the 
long  rest  he  has  had. 

But  it  is  there  just  the  same  and  it  will  sooner  or  later 
be  made  manifest.  Perhaps  he  may  afterward  slip  and  ren- 
der himself  perfectly  helpless  on  account  of  this  very  injury. 

Therefore,  too  much  care  can  not  be  exercised  in  this 
respect.  When  the  animal  is  trotted  and  walked  about  for 
some  time  an  experienced  eye  is  liable  to  detect  it.  How- 
ever, the  best  of  them  frequently  overlook  such  things  and 
a  poor  animal  is  purchased.  In  the  main  such  things  are 
difficult  to  detect,  but  they  are  sometimes  detected  in  time 
and  much  expense  and  annoyance  is  saved.  The  shape  of  a 
horse  should  also  be  considered.  It  should  be  seen  that 
he  has  all  the  lines  that  indicate  speed,  endurance,  docility 
of  temperament  and  kindred  accomplishments.  Often  it  is  the 
case  that  a  most  beautiful  animal  has  but  little  speed.  I  have 
known  of  hundreds  of  such  cases  and  could  point  them  out, 
but  it  is  hardly  necessary  in  this  connection. 

Then,  having  seen  that  the  colt  is  sound,  gives  promise 
of  speed  and  seems  desirable  in  every  particular,  the  pros- 
pective buyer  should  inquire  into  his  pedigree.    He  should 


98 

be  certain  whether  the  sire  or  dam  were  speedy,  strong,  faulty 
or  liable  to  transmit  any  defects  that  would  in  after  life  mar 
his  chances  of  being  a  breadwinner. 

There  are  strains  that  inherit  blindness,  and  this  often 
creeps  out  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  generation.  I  have  known 
instances  where  this  defect  cropped  out  half  a  hundred  years 
later.  Many  of  the  owners  of  these  horses  that  became  blind 
never  knew  what  caused  it  and  had  them  in  the  hands  of  a 
veterinary  for  months  at  a  great  expense  to  cure  it,  when  in 
reality  it  was  a  hereditary  taint  in  the  blood,  and  some  of 
their  remote  ancestors  were  afflicted  in  this  way  and  handed 
it  down  to  posterity. 

Of  course,  a  colt  with  all  these  natural  and  perceptible 
accomplishments  will  command  a  good  price  and  he  can  not 
be  bought  for  a  song,  but  it  is  better  to  have  one  good  horse 
in  a  stable  than  two  dozen  bad  ones.  The  former  will  earn 
money  enough  to  pay  for  his  keep,  and  the  chances  are  that 
the  poor  ones  will  not  win  a  race  often  enough  to  keep  them 
in  corn.    That  is  why  I  say  to  a  man,  "Buy  a  good  horse.'' 

Now,  there  are  exceptions  to  every  rule,  and  some  of 
the  best  horses  of  the  past  century  were  sorry-looking 
yearlings  and  brought  next  to  nothing.  Men  bought  them 
and  raced  them  and  won  with  them  ;  but  this  is  not  the  gen- 
eral rule.  A  blind  hog  is  apt  to  stumble  upon  an  acorn  in 
the  forest,  but  his  chances  are  very  poor,  and  the  wideawake, 
active,  hustling  hog  is  apt  to  get  all  there  is  in  the  way  of 
eating. 

But  get  a  good  horse,  and  then  the  mind  naturally  turns 
upon  how  to  break  him  and  put  him  in  training  to  become 
useful. 

Put  a  halter  on  him  first  and  lead  him  about.  Then 
when  he  has  become  somewhat  accustomed  to  this  a  bridle 
should  be  placed  on  him.  Again,  he  should  be  led  about. 
Then  a  pad  should  be  girded  on  his  back,  not  tight  enough 
to  hurt  him,  but  just  enough  to  keep  it  in  place.  The  idea 
of  this  is  to  get  him  used  to  having  something  on  his  back 
without  being  frightened. 

About  two  days  later  a  groom  should  go  into  the  stable 
and  take  hold  of  the  horse's  head.  Then  the  bov  who  is 
going  to  break  him  should  be  brought  in  and  he  should  catch 
hold  of  the  mane,  pat  the  horse  on  the  sides  and  lean  against 


99 

him.  This  is  done  in  order  to  accustom  the  horse  to  bemg- 
touched,  so  it  will  not  cringe  and  become  frightened  every 
time  he  is  touched.  It  assists  materially  in  breaking.  Later, 
when  the  animal  has  lost  some  of  his  sense  of  fear,  the  boy  is 
again  brought  in  and  the  same  operation  is  gone  through. 
He  knows  the  boy  by  this  time,  and  the  lad  may  be  placed 
astride  of  him  in  the  stall,  with  the  groom  holding  his  head 
all  the  time.  He  simply  sits  there  motionless,  patting  the 
horse  gently,  now  and  then  soothingly,  and  soon  the  quiver- 
ing that  was  at  first  noticed  in  the  sensitive  animal's  frame 
is  observed  to  have  vanished. 

This  is  done  from  time  to  time  for  several  days,  and  for 
a  half  hour  at  a  time  the  boy  is  kept  on  his  back.  When 
several  days  have  passed  a  gentle  or  broken  horse  is  brought 
out  and  placed  in  front  on  the  track.  The  colt  to  be 
broken  is  led  out  by  the  groom  with  the  boy  to  whom  he 
has  become  accustomed  on  his  back.  For  an  hour  this  is 
kept  up,  and  by  this  time  the  horse  is  no  longer  afraid  of 
the  boy. 

After  the  second  day  of  this  treatment  a  saddle  is  put 
on  the  horse,  not  girted  too  tightly,  and  the  groom  should 
lead  him  out  of  the  stable  to  the  track.  The  boy  should  be 
placed  on  his  back,  and  the  groom  releases  his  hold  on  the 
bridle.  Always  agenile  horse  should  lead  the  way,  for  one 
horse  will  follow  another  much  more  quickly  than  he  will 
walk  alone.  He  may  be  walked  a  half  mile  and  then  trotted 
another  half.  Keep  this  up  for  some  time  in  order  to  dispel 
as  far  as  possible  his  sense  of  strangeness  or  fear.  The  boy 
must  be  taught  not  to  dig  his  heels  into  the  animal's  sides, 
for  this  will  as  a  matter  of  course  irritate  him. 

By  the  end  of  a  week  he  may  be  cantered  over  a  portion 
of  the  track,  but  the  boy  should  be  instructed  never  to  dis- 
mount without  having  some  one  hold  the  head  of  the  ani- 
mal. This  is  a  most  important  matter,  for  oftentimes  a 
horse  becomes  frightened  in  the  very  beginning  by  this 
action  and  never  fully  recovers  from  it. 

During  this  treatment  the  horse  should  be  rubbed 
gently  and  his  feet  taken  up  and  picked  out.  All  of  this  is 
an  education  to  the  colt.  A  cloth  should  be  used  in  rubbing 
him,  and  it  should  be  as  soft  as  possible.  He  needs  the  best 
of  attention  at  this  period. 


Another  thing  to  be  considered  is  the  language  used  in 
stopping  or  starting  a  horse.  In  stopping  him,  if  the  groom 
or  boy  says  "  Whoa,"  he  should  always  use  just  these  same 
words  in  speaking  to  the  horse.  It  becomes  fixed  in  his 
mind  and  he  knows  what  it  means.  A  trainer  should  never 
forget  this  particular,  for  it  is  very  helpful. 

The  horse's  course  should  be  reversed  when  he  is  out 
for  exercise  or  training,  so  he  will  get  acquainted  with  the 
meaning  of  the  bridle  rein.  He  should  not  be  turned  always 
the  same  way,  for  it  is  often  the  case  that  swinnie  is  pro- 
duced by  the  constant  turning  on  one  shoulder.  The  muscles 
of  the  shoulder  through  sympathy  shrink  away. 

Thirty  days  have  passed  and  the  colt  is  galloping.  The 
distance  of  these  canters  may  be  lengthened  from  a  mile  to 
one  and  one-quarter  miles.  The  sense  of  touch  of  the  horse 
has  by  this  lime  become  so  accustomed  to  handling  that 
plates  may  be  put  on  his  feet.  But  in  order  to  get  him  sub- 
missive to  this  treatment  his  feet  should  be  picked  out  every 
day,  as  was  at  first  begun. 

Then  the  colt  should  not  be  kept  in  the  rear.  He  should 
be  permitted  to  go  alongside  the  older  horse,  and  after  a 
time  he  should  be  galloped  first  on  one  side  and  then  the 
other.  This  shows  him  that  position  does  not  count  for 
much  and  he  is  not  going  to  be  injured.  At  this  point  on 
entering  the  track  the  colt  should  always  be  put  in  front  of 
the  old  horse  and  walked  around  the  place  where  the  gal- 
loping is  to  be  begun.  He  should  be  sent  out  in  front  and 
made  to  keep  that  position  in  order  to  prevent  his  becoming 
a  bolter.     Teach  him  to  lead  as  well  as  follow. 

The  colt  has  caught  his  stride,  and  he  ought  to  be  sent 
out  to  make  a  run  of  about  an  eighth  of  a  mile  at  a  good 
rate  of  speed  ;  but  no  effort  should  be  made  to  make  him  go 
faster  than  a  2-minute  gait.  This  should  be  kept  up  for  sev- 
eral days. 

The  sixth  week  has  been  reached  and  the  horse  may  be 
extended  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  He  is  pretty  well  used  to 
the  changes  and  begins  to  realize  what  is  expected  of  him. 
After  he  has  gone  a  quarter  of  a  mile  several  times  at  a 
good  rate  of  speed,  during  which  time  he  has  been  taught 
to  go  true  and  straight  and  not  bolt  about,  he  is  about  ready 
to  show  what  there  is  in  him.  If  he  is  not  hurried,  he  will 
always  go  true  and  straight. 


lOI 


Then  he  may  be  extended  to  his  best  and  given  every 
opportunity  to  show  what  he  can  do.  He  is  sent  just  an 
eighth  this  time.  If  he  does  not  bear  about  by  this  time,  he 
may  show  great  speed  or  just  an  ordinary  amount.  Let 
two  or  three  days  go  by  and  then  give  him  this  kind  of  a 
test  again.  The  first  two  months,  however,  should  always 
be  worked  fast  in  company  with  some  other  horse  to  lead 
him.  Work  him  a  quarter  without  forcing  or  hurrying  him 
too  much,  and  be  careful  that  the  ground  over  which  he 
travels  is  perfectly  smooth  and  that  there  are  no  holes  or 
any  obstacles  to  frighten  or  worry  him. 

At  this  stage  the  colt  has  been  sufficiently  advanced  to 
get  a  half  mile's  speeding  in  58  seconds  or  a  minute  flat. 
This  is  a  2-minute  gait.  This  may  be  repeated  at  intervals 
of  every  four  days  for  two  or  three  weeks  until  he  is  in  his 
eighth  week.  Now  the  horse  is  sufficiently  learned  to  be 
able  to  take  hold  of  the  bit.  At  the  end  of  this  time  give 
him  a  fast  half  mile,  and  afterward  let  him  canter  about 
gently,  so  that  he  will  not  lose  his  temper.  Keep  him  slowly 
at  work. 

This  terminates  his  training,  and  the  owner  may  make 
engagements  for  him  if  he  has  shown  sufficient  promise. 
If  he  proves  to  be  of  no  especial  value,  the  best  thing  the 
owner  can  do  is  to  get  rid  of  him. 

But  if  he  proves  to  be  good,  he  should  be  kept  going,  so 
he  will  not  forget  his  training  and  the  lessons  that  have  up 
to  that  time  been  taught  him. 

All  winter,  if  the  ground  is  good,  he  should  get  work, 
and  should  be  fed  well  to  keep  him  high  in  flesh;  but  he 
ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  get  gross.  Only  enough  is 
necessary  to  keep  him  growing.  This  is  the  plan  for  a  year- 
ling, but  it  applies  to  a  two-year-old.  The  latter  is  more 
mature  and  he  may  have  a  little  more  work,  for  he  is  able 
to  bear  up  under  it  better  than  the  yearling. 

Colts  that  are  put  in  training,  it  they  are  very  fleshy* 
should  be  given  lots  of  grazing.  It  makes  them  eat  and 
feed  better  and  cools  them  out,  fills  them  with  sap,  and 
thereby  they  eliminate  this  lusty  condition  and  are  stripped 
of  this  superfluous  flesh.  Grass  loosens  this  state  of  affairs 
and  assists  materially  in  the  development  of  the  animal. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Noted  Jockeys  and  Trainefs. 

While  America  leads  all  other  countries  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  for  her  horses,  she  also  leads  in  the  class  of  her 
jockeys.  She  has  given  to  the  turf  many  of  the  princes  of 
the  saddle,  and  by  their  skill  and  intelligence  they  have  re- 
cently electrified  all  England  and  France.  There  was  prob- 
ably never  a  year  in  the  world's  history  that  this  fact  was  so 
exemplified  as  in  the  one  just  passed. 

Sloan,  the  Reiffs,  Jenkins,  Maher,  Thorpe,  Terrell, 
Hamilton  and  a  half  dozen  others  are  the  wonder  of  the  far 
Eastern  world.  They  have  introduced  a  new  style  of  riding 
that  the  English,  French,  Australians,  Russians,  Austrians 
and  Germans  do  not  understand,  for  it  is  entirely  at  variance 
with  all  their  established  rules.  Yet  the  system  wins,  and 
now  the  English  boys  are  being  taught  the  method.  In  a 
short  time  the  American  method  will  be  adopted  exclusively. 

Probably  the  greatest  jockey  this  country  ever  produced 
was  Isaac  Murphy.  He  was  a  brown-skinned  negro  lad, 
born  in  Kentucky,  and  rode  many  great  horses.  His  first 
engagement  was  with  the  stable  of  Hunt  Reynolds,  who 
lived  near  Frankfort,  Ky.  Johnson  &  Churchill  next  secured 
his  services,  and  he  rode  Ben  d'  Or,  Little  Ruffin  and  Sir 
Joseph  Hawley  for  them,  winning  the  majority  of  his  starts. 
But  with  the  string  of  Edward  Corrigan,  the  "  Master  of 
Hawthorne,"  he  made  his  reputation. 

With  him  Murphy  rode  Modesty,  the  winner  of  the  first 
American  Derby  ;  Freeland,  who  defeated  the  celebrated 
Miss  Woodford  ;  Riley  and  other  good  ones.  Murphy  was 
noted  for  his  honesty,  and  could  always  be  depended  upon 
in  any  emergency.  On  one  occasion,  it  is  said,  he  was 
asked  to  pull  a  horse.  He  firmly  declined,  and  no  amount 
of  money  would  tempt  him  to  do  wrong.  "  You  will  have 
to  get  somebody  else  to  ride  your  horses  after  this,"  he  said, 
and  he  could  not  be  induced  to  ride  for  that  man  again. 
There  was  never  so  good  a  judge  of  pace  as  Murphy.  He 
could  tell  within  a  fraction  of  a  second  just  how  fast  he  was 


103 

moving  at  every  quarter.  From  one  end  of  the  country  to 
the  other  he  was  famous,  and  every  little  boy  who  took  any 
interest  in  racing  knew  of  and  had  an  admiration  for  Isaac 
Murphy,  He  was  black  of  skin,  but  his  heart  was  as  white 
as  snow,  and  when  he  passed  under  the  string  on  the  pale 
horse  the  old  gentleman  with  the  scythe  tipped  his  hat 
politely  and  said :  "  Pass  right  into  the  parlor  among  the 
gentlemen  angels." 

James  McLaughlin  began  his  career  with  William  Daly, 
commonly  known  as  "  Father  Bill,"  who  sold  his  services  to 
Michael  and  Phil  Dwyer,  for  $800.  McLaughlin  was  white, 
but,  like  Murphy,  he  rode  many  distinguished  horses  and  was 
noted  for  his  skill  in  the  saddle.  He  sat  upon  the  backs  of 
such  celebrities  as  Hanover,  Hindoo,  Luke  Blackburn  and 
Insoector  B.,  and  often  piloted  them  to  victory.  Jimmy  was 
as  honest  as  the  day  is  long  and  was  never  accused  of  unfair- 
ness. If  he  ever  pulled  a  horse  or  failed  to  do  his  best,  I 
never  heard  of  it.  That  is  why  he  so  enjoyed  the  confidence 
of  the  people,  and  a  man  who  had  a  bet  on  one  of  McLaugh- 
lin's mounts  knew  he  would  get  a  run  for  his  money  and 
that  if  there  was  any  chance  for  him  to  win  McLaughlin 
would  make  the  best  of  it.  He  is  still  alive  at  this  writing 
and  is  a  trainer  of  considerable  note. 

"Snapper''  Garrison  was  noted  for  his  skill  in  finishing, 
and  the  "  Garrison  finish ''  is  spoken  of  to  this  day.  One 
hears  it  at  cards  and  in  nearly  every  walk  of  life,  where  a 
man  succeeds  in  accomplishing  his  object  at  the  moment 
when  he  had  begun  to  despair.  Garrison  rode  for  the 
Dwyers  and  all  the  big  turfmen  of  the  East.  The  lad  was 
sober,  steady  and  courageous,  and  his  friends  never  lost  con- 
fidence in  him.  Finally,  he  became  so  heavy  that  he  was 
forced  to  retire  from  the  saddle.  He  tried  in  vain  at  the 
end  of  his  career  to  make  the  weight,  but  could  not  do  so. 
and  it  is  said  he  actually  broke  down  and  wept  when  he 
found  that  he  must  stop.  Garrison  did  not  possess  the 
qualifications  of  a  trainer,  and  he  is  spending  the  last  days 
of  his  life  in  quietude. 

Fred  Tarel  began  as  a  rider  with  Dan  Honig,  of  St- 
Louis.  He  distinguished  himself  in  the  East  and  won  many 
great  races.  One  of  them  was  the  victory  of  Dr.  Rice  in 
the  Brooklyn  or  Suburban — I  have  forgotten  exactly  which 
it  was. 


I04 

Bob  Swim  was  with  Dr.  Weldon  at  St.  Louis.  Then 
he  secured  employment  with  Price  McGrath,  where  he  had 
the  mounts  on  Aristides,  Tom  Blowline  and  Calvin  when 
they  won  such  remarkable  victories.  There  was  a  time 
when  Bobby  drove  cattle  through  the  streets  of  St.  Louis, 
and  Dr.  Weldon  noticed  him  ridino;-  through  the  city  and 
took  a  fancy  to  him.  That  is  how  he  became  a  jockey,  and 
when  he  won  the  Kentucky  Derby  with  the  "little  red 
horse,"  Aristrides,  for  Price  McGrath  he  was  the  idol  of  all 
Kentucky, 

Frank  Jordan's  career  was  a  short  one,  but  it  was  emi- 
nently successful.  He  started  in  at  riding  quarter  horses 
down  in  the  Indian  Nation,  and  then  drifted  into  the  legiti- 
mate turf.  When  he  went  to  St.  Louis  he  became  noted  as 
one  of  the  best  riders  that  ever  threw  a  leg  over  a  horse. 
He  bears  the  distinction  of  having  paid  one  of  the  biggest 
fines  ever  assessed  on  the  American  turf.  It  was  produced 
by  alleged  disobedience  at  the  post,  although  the  general 
opinion  is  that  he  was  fined  because  he  was  breaking  all  the 
books  at  the  track.  So  well  did  the  lad  manage  his  mounts 
that  all  the  public  wanted  to  know  was  what  horse  Jordan 
was  riding,  and  then  they  would  put  their  money  down  on  his 
chances  without  regard  to  form.  Little  Jordan  walked  de- 
liberately into  the  stand  where  the  judges  were  standing  and 
counted  out  the  money  without  a  word  of  comment.  It  was 
afterward  recovered ;  but  the  lad  showed  he  was  game  to  a 
wonderful  degree,  and  the  public  fairly  idolized  him.  He 
rode  Queenie  Trowbridge  in  a  race  in  New  York  and  won 
$200,000  for  McCafferty  &  Wishard.  They  had  arranged 
for  a  grand  killing,  and  they  certainly  made  it. 

Tommy  Burns  started  in  with  Tom  Hearn  and  was  very 
successful,  but  he  has  always  had  a  hard  time  getting  along 
with  the  owners  for  whom  he  rode.  Afterward  he  rode  for 
John  Schorr  and  Burns  &  Waterhouse.  A  good  judge  of 
pace  and  a  careful  general,  he  has  won  many  races  and  is  a 
most  useful  lad. 

Charley  Thorpe  is  a  good  jockey  and  is  noted  for  his 
honesty  to  his  employers.  One  may  always  depend  that  he 
will  do  his  best.  He  is  now  riding  in  Australia.  Originally 
he  came  from  the  wilds  of  Nebraska,  and  the  first  good 
horse  he  ever  rode  was  Belle  K.     Several  owners  had  fixed 


105 

up  a  race  and  arranged  that  Gen.  Rowett  was  to  win  it. 
The  men  placed  every  cent  they  could  raise  upon  Gen. 
Rowett,  because  they  believed  he  was  the  best.  The  owner 
of  Belle  K.  agreed  to  place  Belle  K.,  but  he  had  not  calcu- 
lated on  the  honesty  of  Thorpe.  The  boy  positively  refused 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  scheme,  and  he  went  in  and 
won  with  his  mount.  "  It  broke  us,"  said  the  gentleman  who 
relates  the  incident,  "  but  it  shows  the  boy  was  honest." 

Alex,  and  George  Covington  are  two  of  the  best  boys 
that  ever  sat  in  a  saddle,  and  it  will  be  a  long  time  before 
they  are  forgotten  in  the  turf  world.  A  nice  little  incident 
is  related  of  George  Covington  to  show  his  thoughtfulness 
and  freedom  from  that  peculiar  disease  commonly  termed 
"swelled  head."  George  rode  Strathmeath  and  won  the 
great  American  Derby  with  him.  After  the  race,  in  which 
thousands  of  dollars  were  won  and  by  which  Covington's 
store  was  greatly  added  to,  he  split  the  kindling  and  made 
the  fire  to  heat  the  water  for  the  purpose  of  cooling  the 
horse  out.  In  England  Alex,  distinguished  himself,  and  is 
also  a  trainer  and  owner. 

John  Spillman  was  a  noted  jockey  of  his  day  and  was 
very  popular.  He  was  killed  in  a  fight  in  the  East  and  a 
great  career  was  cut  short. 

William  Martin  is  now  too  heavy  to  ride,  but  only  a  few 
years  ago  he  stood  among  the  best.  He  has  always  been 
noted  for  his  cool  judgment  and  good  generalship.  In  San 
Francisco  he  scored  his  greatest  triumphs  and  won  thou- 
sands of  dollars.  Unlike  most  jockeys,  he  saved  his  money 
and  is  now  comfortably  fixed. 

Of  course,  the  mighty  James  Todhunter  Sloan  must  not 
be  forgotten.  He  came  from  a  little  town  in  Indiana.  His 
brother,  Cash  Sloan,  was  in  St.  Louis,  riding,  and  Tod  ran 
away  from  his  adopted  parents  and  went  to  Missouri. 
There  his  first  engagement  was  as  cook  for  Col.  Johnson, 
who  owned  Jim  Douglas.  Afterward  he  became  an  exercise 
boy.  After  the  hardest  kind  of  a  struggle  he  fought  his  way 
up,  and  after  a  time  he  was  considered  good  enough  to  ride 
at  the  old  Southside  outlaw  track.  Then  he  branched  out 
and  climbed  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of  pigskin  fame.  When 
fortune  smiled  upon  him  and  when  he  was  worth  thousands 
he  returned  in  truly  regal  style  and  made  his  foster  parents 


io6 

happy.  The  little  town  fairly  worships  the  lad,  and  he 
stands  as  high  with  them  as  does  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  In  fact,  they  would  be  willing  to  run  Tod  for  that 
office  if  they  thought  he  would  accept  the  nomination. 

Dann}'  Maher  is  a  clever  little  fellow  who  came  to  the 
front  a  short  time  ago  in  the  East,  and  is  now  in  England^ 
astonishing  the  slow-going  Britons  by  his  up-to-date  methods 
in  the  saddle. 

John  Wishard  is  in  England  and  is  training  the  horb^es 
of  Richard  Croker. 

"  Soup  "  Perkins  was  once  a  noted  negro  jockey  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  two  of  the  Derby  winners  passed  under  the  wire 
first  under  his  skillful  guidance.  He  became  too  heavy  to 
ride  and  retired,  having  quite  a  fortune.  "  Soup"  does  not 
know  how  to  read  or  write,  and  it  is  said  that  when  he  re- 
tired he  went  home  to  the  little  cabin  where  he  lived  with 
his  parents.  They  were  very  poor  and  his  father  had  never 
had  a  good  suit  of  clothes  up  to  that  time.  Some  one  sug- 
gested that  "  Soup  "  fix  the  old  man  up  a  bit.  He  bought  his 
father  the  loudest  suit  of  clothes  the  market  afforded  and 
provided  him  with  a  watch  nearly  as  large  as  a  loaf  of  bread. 
From  the  old  man's  vest  pocket  there  dangled  a  massive 
chain,  and  in  his  high  hat  he  looked  the  swell  negro  sport. 
"  Soup"  attired  himself  in  a  similar  manner,  and  when  the 
two  paraded  the  streets  of  Lexington  they  attracted  all  sorts 
of  attention. 

Eddie  Dominck  is  one  of  the  best  riders  of  to-day  and  is 
always  adding  to  his  laurels. 

Winnie  O'Connor  is  certainly  a  wonder,  and  he  stands 
among  the  best  in  the  country. 

Willie  Shaw  rides  for  Pittsburg  Phil,  and  it  is  to  his 
success  in  the  saddle  that  Phil  owes  much  of  the  money  he 
has  won  during  the  past  two  seasons. 

Joe,  Hunter,  Dave,  Harry  and  Eli  Vittatoe  are  five  lads 
of  one  family  that  are  riders,  and  good  ones,  too.  Hunter 
was  considered  to  be  an  excellent  judge  of  pace. 

Johnny  BuUman  is  a  great  favorite  wherever  he  rides,  and 
the  owner  he  rides  for  always  gets  the  best  there  is  in  the 
horse. 

Willie  Sims  was  one  of  the  best  jockeys  of  his  time,  and 
he  rode  many  winners  in  Derbies  and  stake  events. 


I07 

Willie  Newcom  is  a  handsome  little  fellow  who  has  had 
considerable  success  as  a  rider.  He  is  honest,  straightfor- 
ward and  clever  at  his  business. 

Willie  Dale  is  a  boy  who  is  going  to  make  his  mark  on 
the  turf. 

Roscoe  Troxler  is  one  of  the  best  boys  that  ever  be- 
strode a  thoroughbred.  His  brother  Johnny  is  a  good  rider 
and  a  fine  trainer. 

James  Beauchamp  is  fast  getting  to  the  front  and  is  a 
good  rider. 

George  Cochran  comes  of  a  race  of  riders,  and  his  rel- 
atives have  always  distinguished  themselves  on  the  turf. 
Little  George  is  going  to  be  a  great  man  some  day. 

There  are  hundreds  of  other  riders  who  might  also  be 
mentioned,  but  they  have  not  aspired  to  the  highest  honors 
and  have  been  content  to  win  a  race  now  and  then.  They 
are  all  good  boys,  however,  and  some  of  them  may  be  sur 
prises. 

I  have  neglected  to  speak  of  Johnny  Moone}',  of  St. 
Louis,  a  boy  who  is  now  too  heavy  to  ride,  but  was  once 
noted  for  his  cleverness  in  the  saddle. 

Some  of  the  men  as  trainers  of  horses  who  have  figured 
most  prominently  in  making  turf  history,  in  both  the  old 
and  the  modern  school,  appear  to  me  at  this  time — I  mean 
representative  men,  who  in  every  feature  of  their  business 
added  "lustre,"  if  not  greater  confidence,  national  and  in- 
ternational, in  the  high  and  refined  motives  vrhich  have  at  all 
stages  influenced  the  gentlemen  at  the  head  in  management 
of  the  American  turf.  If  I  were  to  attempt  to  enumerate 
all  who  are  worthy  to  be  recorded  in  this  list,  it  would  be 
quite  as  long  as  the  moral  law  ;  therefore,  I  will  confine  my 
remarks  in  mentioning  but  a  few  of  the  more  prominent  in 
both  schools.  The  old  school  abounded  in  such  men  as 
Arthur  Taylor,  Captain  John  Belcher,  Boston,  trainer;  both 
of  these  were  from  Virginia,  and  came  up  in  the  Wm.  R.  John- 
son School;  Bob  Wooden,  George  R.Walden,  Bony  Young, 
John  Alcock,  of  whom  there  is  a  pretty  little  story  told  as 
follows  in  connection  with  Mr.  Wm.  R.  Johnson,  who  was 
once  running  his  celebrated  horse  Duane  against  a  horse 
that  had  been  trained  by  young  Alcock,  and  was  but  little 
known  at  that  time,  but  afterwards  became  famous;  but  a 


io6 

rumor  got  circulated  that  Alcock's  horse  was  entirely  too 
fat  or  high  in  flesh  and  could  not  possibly  run  any.  John- 
son, hearing  and  confiding  too  in  this  rumor,  bet  very  heavily 
on  Duane,  but  lost,  and  Alcock  won  at  the  termination  of  the 
last  heat.  As  Johnson  was  casually  passing  by  where  Al- 
cock stood  cooling  out  his  horse,  together  with  a  number  of 
distinguished  gentlemen  friends  of  Alcock's  stable,  Johnson 
called  young  Alcock,  at  the  same  time  saying :  "  I  have  a  bug 
to  put  in  your  ear ;  I  learned  that  your  horse  was  a  little 
too  fat  during  the  last  day  or  two  and  in  consequence  of  that 
rumor  1  am  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  poorer  to-day  than 
I  was  yesterday.  Now,  my  advice  is  to  you  to  always  keep 
him  just  a  little  too  fat,  but  please  let  me  know  of  it  hereaf- 
ter when  you  have  him  that  fat,  and  I  shall  be  under  many 
obligations  to  you. " 

This  list  were  all  from  Virginia;  there  never  was  an  ad- 
verse rumor  about  any  one  of  them  :  Lee  Paul,  Thomas 
Paterson,  Mat  Davis,  Gerome  Edgar,  James  Davis,  trainer 
of  Jim  Bell ;  Munk  Fowler,  Buck  Elliot,  Buck  Franklin, 
Sandy  Bames,  Henry  Welch,  William  McCormick,  James 
McCormick,  Isaac  Vanleer,  old  man  Ansel,  old  Charles,  who 
became  famous  when  he  trained  Wagener,  and  Charles  Car- 
ter, Edward  Harrison,  Joe  Porter,  John  Hamon,  Benjamin 
Pryor,  Addison  Small,  Washington  Graves,  Thomas  G. 
Moore,  Wilson  Teasdal,  and  the  late  Capt.  William  A.  Stew- 
art, than  whom  I  never  knew  an  abler  or  more  capable  man 
with  every  and  all  classes  of  horses,  nor  have  I  ever  known  any 
horseman  who  was  held  in  anything  like  such  general  es- 
teem for  his  many  estimable  qualities.  Amongst  the  men 
who  have  risen  to  prominence  since  the  last  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  as  trainers  of  credit  and  ability,  and 
whose  records  can  be  said  to  be  emulous,  it  may  suffice  to 
give  a  short  list,  as  time  and  space  are  inadequate  to  do 
more  at  this  time  of  writing.  The  late  Ephraim  Snedica, 
William  Brown  of  Parole  fame,  Barney  Reily,  Matthew 
Burns,  Franklin  McCabe,  Mr.  Charles  Patison,  Mat  Dun, 
Pat  Dun,  Red  Bill,  William  McDaniel,  Henry  McDaniel, 
William  Lakeland,  John  Huggins,  Jacob  Pincus,  James  Mc- 
Loflin,  Charles  Mulholland,  Peter  Wiemer,  Jackson  Joiner, 
Thomas  Welch,  Brown  Dick,  Preston  West,  and  last  but  by 
no  means  least   Mr.  James  Row,  as   I  know  no  man  of  his 


107 

experience  who  has  superior  talents  in  his  business  in  any 
country  on  the  globe,  diligent,  sagacious  and  incorruptible — 
in  fact,  he  is  the  brightest  pebble  on  the  beach;  Thomas 
Sayers,  Jr.,  a  natural  son  of  the  once  famous  English  pugilist 
of  the  same  name  and  of  John  C.  Heenan  fight  fame;  Col. 
David  McDaniel  of  Harry  Basit,  Katie  Pease,  Springbock 
fame;  the  noted  John  Harper,  breeder  and  owner  of  Ten- 
broke  and  Longfellow;  the  late  Jackson  Minor,  who  trained 
the  great  horse  Kentucky  for  the  late  Mr.  August  Belmont, 
Sr. ;  Mr.  Charles  Littlefield,  who  rode  Kentucky  in  his  races 
and  trained  the  great  Preakness,  Monarkist,  Mate,  Hegara, 
Brigand  and  others;  that  gentle  best  of  fellows,  Henry  Avis, 
of  the  firm  of  Avis  &  Mulky,  of  Kansas  City,  Missouri ;  John 
Morris,  who  trained  for  Mr.  George  Long,  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  than  whom  there  is  no  cleverer  a  gentleman;  Mr. 
Robert  Tucker,  who  trained  many  good  horses  for  the  late 
Col.  Sam  Brown,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.;  Mr.  Green  B.  Morris, 
who  is  in  a  class  by  himself ;  Mr.  Wm.  Scully,  late  of  Ken- 
tucky, but  now  of  Sheepshead  Bay,  Coney  Island  ;  Mr.  John 
Lowe,  of  Sheepshead  Bay,  Coney  Island;  Mr.  H.  R.  Brandt, 
who  trains  for  Mr.  Barney  Schreiber. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
The  Greatest  Plungers. 

Ever  since  there  has  been  betting  in  the  world  there 
have  been  plungers,  as  the  outside  world  calls  them — men 
who  were  not  afraid  to  take  a  chance  and  bet  their  money. 
A  peculiarity  of  the  matter  is  that  the  majority  of  them  have 
been  gentlemen,  and  there  was  scarcely  a  one  who  did  not 
have  a  first-class  education.  Of  course,  there  are  excep- 
tions, but  they  were  few  and  far  between. 

Pre-emiment  among  them  was  the  late  Col.  W.  R.  John- 
son. He  was  a  man  who  stood  among  his  fellows  as  a  tall 
blade  of  grass  in  a  barren  field.  There  was  not  a  man  who 
ever  met  him  but  was  convinced  of  the  superiority  of  his 
worth.  He  came  of  one  of  the  best  families  in  the  South, 
was  always  noted  for  his  sterling  probity,  and  the  whole 
Southern  and  Northern  world  worshiped  at  his  shrine. 

Suave  of  manner,  an  amusing  entertainer,  gentle  of 
deportment,  ready  to  resent  an  insult,  and  a  man  of  the  old 
school,  where  every  man's  rights  must  be  respected,  he  stood 
the  highest  among  the  high  and  mighty  of  his  day.  There 
is  no  turfman  of  the  present  day  but  will  take  off  his  hat  to 
the  memory  of  such  a  man. 

Yet  Col.  Johnson  was  one  of  the  greatest  plungers  of  his 
time,  and,  by  the  way,  there  has  been  no  man  up  to  this  date 
who  has  excelled  him  in  those  qualities  which  go  to  make 
up  a  plunger.  He  sometimes  wagered  as  much  as  $75,000 
on  a  single  race,  and  whether  he  won  or  whether  he  lost  it 
was  not  perceptible  in  his  manner.  There  are  few  such  men 
in  the  world,  and  it  has  been  often  said  of  him  that  "  nature 
broke  the  mold."  Born  in  Virginia,  he  inherited  all  that 
rich  strain  of  Southern  blood  that  believes  in  giving  to  every 
man  his  rights  and  exacting  from  every  man  his  own  meed. 
It  was  Col.  Johnson  who  made  all  the  great  matches  of  the 
ancient  times,  and  it  was  his  active  mind  that  brought  about 
the  contests  between  the  North  and  South,  where  for  the 
most  part  the  natives  of  his  own  section  were  successful. 


I09 

It  has  been  said  that  in  the  stable  of  Col.  Johnson  there 
was  not  a  horse  but  had  a  claim  to  distinction.  In  any  event, 
he  matched  them  with  the  greatest  success  for  many  years, 
and  the  Northern  people  nearly  always  suffered  by  the 
contests. 

A  plunger  must  be  a  bundle  of  nerves  and  filled  with 
discrimination  to  the  utmost  degree.  Col.  Johnson  was 
more  than  this.  He  was  always  the  urbane  gentleman 
under  whatever  circumstances  he  found  himself.  I  have 
said  this  about  one  of  the  greatest  turfmen  the  world  ever 
produced  for  the  reason  that  I  knew  him,  knew  his  descend- 
ants, respected  and  loved  them,  and  I  feel  that  I  can  not  say 
a  word  in  this  respect,  paying  a  tribute  to  one  of  Nature's 
noblemen,  that  would  be  an  untruth. 

James  McLaughlin,  of  New  Orleans,  was  one  of  the 
heaviest  bettors  in  the  South  during  his  time.  When  he 
thought  he  had  a  chance  he  was  always  willing  to  take  it. 
He  wagered  thousands  on  a  single  race,  and  whether  he  won 
or  lost  he  never  lost  his  temper.  Then  there  was  Charles 
Riley,  from  New  York.  He  was  as  game  a  sport  as  ever 
opened  a  bottle  of  wine  after  making  a  big  winning,  and  he 
was  opening  them  all  the  time.  Riley  started  South  after 
every  big  meeting  in  the  fall  and  spent  his  summers  in  the 
land  where  the  cool  and  inviting  palmetto  holds  out  its 
inviting  shade  and  where  the  soft  winds  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
fan  the  fevered  brow. 

One  of  the  prettiest  stories  connected  with  plunging  on 
the  turf  is  the  history  of  Charles,  better  known  as  "  Riley,'' 
Grannan.  He  was  born  near  Lexington,  in  the  State  of 
Kentucky,  and  received  hut  a  meager  education.  When  his 
father's  farm  was  mortgaged,  and  he  had  tried  in  vain  to 
secure  employment  in  the  county,  he  packed  up  his  few 
belongings  and  went  to  Louisville.  Grannan  had  been  a 
never-do-well  and  he  had  learned  no  trade.  His  parents 
had  permitted  him  to  grow  up  around  the  stables  and  his 
mind  was  filled  with  the  doings  of  horses  instead  of  the 
doings  of  men. 

He  cared  no  more  for  history — at  least  that  part  of  it 
that  relates  to  the  human  family — than  does  a  wild  animal 
about  the  Ten  Commandments.  He  just  grew  up  wild — 
like   Topsy    in   the  play    of   "  Uncle  Tom's   Cabin.''     But 


no 


everybody  had  a  liking  for  "  that  Grannan  boy,"  and  there 
was  no  one  to  say  a  word  against  him.  It  was  generally 
known  that  his  family  was  in  bad  straits,  but  no  one 
thought  of  "  Riley,"  as  he  was  called,  as  the  one  destined  to 
bring  the  needed  relief.  This  was  not  because  he  was  a  bad 
boy,  for  such  was  not  the  case.  Charles  Grannan  was  then 
and  is  to-day  the  soul  of  honor. 

But  to  return  to  the  thread  of  the  story.  He  left  his 
little  home  in  Lexington,  and  a  fond  mother  probably  shed 
many  a  tear  over  him  as  he  went  away,  but  he  declared  that 
when  he  returned  to  them  he  would  bring  them  money  and 
happiness  in  abundance.  Some  of  the  more  pessimistic  of 
the  neighbors  sneered  and  scoffed  at  the  idea  of  "  Riley  " 
ever  amounting  to  anything.  He  was  a  diamond  in  the 
rough,  and  they  did  not  know  it. 

Going  to  Louisville,  the  country  boy  who  had  spent  the 
best  part  of  his  life  about  the  stables  of  Lexington  could 
find  out  little  to  do.  What  there  was  proved  to  be  of  such 
a  character  that  he  did  not  feel  able  to  undertake  it.  By  and 
by  he  was  reduced  to  ten  cents.  This  was  the  sole  capital 
he  had  in  his  possession.  Walking  into  the  saloon  of 
George  Hess,  a  man  who  kept  a  place  on  Sixth  street,  be- 
tween Jefferson  and  Green,  at  the  time,  he  called  for  a  glass 
of  beer  and  a  cigar.  These  he  paid  for  and  he  was  then 
penniless. 

Leaning  across  the  counter,  he  became  engaged  in 
conversation  with  Mr.  Hess. 

"  Do  you  ever  bet  on  the  races?  "  he  asked  Mr.  Hess. 

"  Yes,  sometimes,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Well,''  said  the  country  lad  with  that  confidence  that 
characterizes  men  who  have  always  dealt  with  honest  men 
and  suspect  nobody,  "  I  have  come  to  this  town  to  borrow 
$700  from  some  man  who  bets  on  the  races." 

Mr.  Hess  smiled,  and  well  he  might,  but  he  was  interest- 
ed in  the  unsophisticated  youth. 

"What  is  your  scheme,  lad?''  he  asked. 

"  I'm  going  to  pick  six  winners  for  him  to-morrow,  and 
then  he  will  trust  me,''  was  the  confident  reply. 

Mr.  Hess  looked  at  the  truthful  face,  and  he  thought  he 
would  take  a  chance.  Nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thou- 
sand men  out  of   a  million  might  have  called  and  said  the 


Ill 


same  thing-,  and  if  they  had  persisted  Mr.  Hess  would  have 
sent  for  a  policeman. 

That  night  *'  Riley  "  Grannan,  the  penniless  Lexington 
country  boy,  slept  with  the  saloon  keeper.  The  next  morn- 
ing they  went  around  to  the  Turf  Exchange,  the  pool  room 
of  the  town,  and  saw  the  entries  for  the  foreign  races.  Gran- 
nan made  notes  of  them,  and  in  the  afternoon  they  went 
back, 

"  What  about  this  first  race,  boy  ?''  asked  Hess. 

"  Play  this  one,"  said  Grannan,  "  and  put  about  $ioo  on 
him." 

He  pointed  out  a  long  shot.  Hess  hesitated,  but  he  put 
a  $ro  bill  down.  The  odds  were  long  and  no  one  thought  the 
animal  had  a  chance.  He  won,  and  the  capital  of  the 
saloon  keeper  was  added  materially  to.  He  wanted  the 
young  fellow  to  go  and  get  a  drink  with  him  on  the  strength 
of  their  victory,  and  this  is  what  Grannan  said,  as  told  the 
writer  by  Mr.  Hess  himself: 

"  I  thank  you,  Mr.  Hess,  but  a  man  who  has  any  busi- 
ness to  attend  to  has  no  business  drinking.  I  need  all  the 
nerve  I  can  muster,  and  drinking  will  injure  it.  As  you 
have  been  accustomed  to  taking  a  drink  occasionally,  you  do 
it,  but  I  want  nothing.  I  will  figure  out  the  next  race  for 
you." 

He  went  to  work  on  the  matter,  and  when  they  left  the 
pool  room  that  evening  they  had  won  six  races  and  not 
lost  a  bet. 

The  next  day  was  a  repetition  of  the  first,  Grannan  re- 
fusing to  take  a  cent  of  the  winnings. 

"  What  do  you  want?''  said  Hess  finally. 

"  I  am  after  $700,"  said  Grannan. 

"Here  it  is,"  said  Hess.  "What  are  you  going  to  do 
with  it?" 

•'  Go  to  California  and  make  a  book  on  the  races  with 
it,"  said  the  Lexington  rustic. 

"  Go  on,"  said  Hess,  knowing  his  money  was  in  the 
hands  of  an  honest  man. 

Grannan  went  away  and  spent  the  winter.  When  he 
returned  he  divided  $42,000  with  Mr.  Hess,  making  it  share 
and  share  alike.  Then  he  went  back  to  the  Biuegrass  cap- 
ital, the  place  the  Kentuckians  are  wont  to  say  with  pardon- 


112 


able  pride  is  so  close  to  heaven  that  they  can  sometimes  hear 
the  harps  of  the  angels  as  they  gather  at  the  beautiful  river 
and  offer  up  peons  of  praise. 

By  this  time  the  old  folks  had  moved  from  the  old  farm 
where  so  many  of  the  Grannans  had  been  born  for  ages  past 
and  were  renting  a  small  place  not  far  away.  "  Riley,"  the 
never-do-well,  bought  the  old  farm  back,  and  he  went  further 
and  bought  the  place  where  the  family  was  then  living. 
Sending  a  man  to  the  house  ahead  of  him  to  tell  them  the 
farm  had  been  sold,  he  waited  to  give  his  parents  a  joyful 
surprise.  The  man  told  the  old  couple  the  farm  had  been 
sold  and  that  the  new  owner  wanted  immediate  possession. 
Of  course,  Mr.  Grannan,  Sr.,  and  his  estimable  wife  were 
plunged  in  the  depths  of  despair. 

"  By  the  way,''  said  the  messenger,  "  here  is  the  new 
owner.  " 

And  then  the  black  sheep  walked  in.  Of  course  there  was 
an  affecting  scene,  and  when  the  deeds  giving  her  the  prop- 
erty were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Grannan  her  joy  knew 
no  bounds.  It  would  be  sacrilege  to  describe  such  a  scene, 
but  I  mention  the  incident  to  show  you  that  a  man  may  be 
a  gentleman  at  heart  and  poor  in  purse. 

Afterward  Grannan  lost  and  won  probably  $2,000,000. 
Then  his  health  failed  him,  for  he  was  never  stout,  and  he 
went  to  Europe  There  he  lost  all  the  money  at  Monte 
Carlo  that  he  had  made  on  the  block  in  this  country,  and 
once  more  he  was  forced  to  return  to  America.  Now  he  is 
said  to  have  amassed  a  competency  and  is  in  the  East  en- 
deavoring to  get  well  and  once  more  show  the  turfmen 
who  laid  the  rail.  Grannan  is  the  man  who  while  on  the 
block  probably  took  the  largest  bet  that  has  been  recorded 
in  modern  times.  It  was  during  the  celebrated  race  between 
Domino  and  Henry  of  Navarre. 

"I  wish  to  place  a  bet  on  Henry  of  Navarre,'*  said 
Michael  Dwyer. 

"Very  well,  sir;  you  are  on,"  said  the  suave  little  Gran- 
nan.    "How  much?'' 

"  About  $21,000,"  was  Dwyer's  response. 

"  Make  out  this  ticket,"  said  Grannan  to  his  sheet  writer. 
"  Any  more  of  the  same  kind,  Mr.  Dwyer?"  he  asked. 


"3 

"  That's  enough,"  was  Dwyer's  response,  and  ever  since 
that  time  Dwyer  has  had  the  greatest  respect  for  the  nervy 
little  Kentucky  boy  who  wears  no  mustache  and  does  not 
look  to  be  out  of  his  teens. 

Of  course,  every  one  has  heard  of  the  famous  Dwyer 
Brothers  and  of  their  almost  phenomenal  success  upon  the 
American  turf.  There  is  hardly  a  schoolboy  who  will  not 
recognize  the  name.  They  have  always  been  noted  for  their 
gameness  and  judgment.  Mike  Dwyer  has  few  equals  on 
the  race  tracks  to-day  who  are  judges  of  speed  and  condition. 
He  has  made  and  lost  several  colossal  fortunes,  and  he  is 
still  alive  and  he  may  win  and  lose  many  more. 

But  it  may  be  interesting  in  this  connection  to  mention 
how  the  famous  Pittsburg  Phil  got  his  start.  The  story 
was  told  me  by  the  man  who  devised  the  scheme,  and  I  have 
every  reason  to  believe  it  to  be  true. 

Pittsburg  Phil  was  only  a  poor  cigarmaker  who  made 
an  occasional  bet.  He  formed  the  acquaintance  of  John  B. 
Hill  and  "  Pinky  "  Botay  at  Monmouth  Park.  Hill  was  the 
genius  of  the  trio,  and  he  informed  the  two  others  that  he 
believed  he  had  a  system  that  would  beat  the  races  and  beat 
them  all  the  time.  The  others  were  ready  to  listen,  but  they 
had  but  very  little  money.  Then  Hill  unfolded  to  them  his 
plan.  He  went  on  to  explain  that  they  should  watch  every 
race  for  a  week  and  get  a  line  on  the  horses.  One  was  to 
go  to  the  half,  another  to  the  three-quarters  and  the  third 
was  to  remain  at  the  wire.  They  were  to  watch  all  the  horses 
carefully  and  see  whether  they  had  gotten  good  starts,  been 
interfered  with,  and  what  was  the  matter  with  them  that 
they  did  not  win. 

Several  days  of  this  kind  of  work  showed  them  that 
there  was  one  horse  that  was  superior  to  any  of  his  com- 
pany, but  he  had  always  met  with  accidents  and  had  never 
had  a  chance.  They  waited,  held  a  conference  with  the  boy 
who  was  going  to  ride  him,  gave  him  some  advice,  and  then 
they  invested  all  their  capital  on  his  chances.  He  was  a  long 
shot  and  he  won  handily.  This  gave  the  three  celebrated 
plungers  their  starts  in  life.  Pittsburg  Phil  and  Botay  have 
nearly  all  they  made,  but  Hill  has  dissipated  his  money,  and 
he  said  once  that  he  doubted  if  either  of  the  other  two  would 
be  willing  to  assist  him  if  he  was  in  the  direst  want.     Yet 


114 

this  is  the  man  who  furnished  the  brains  originally  for  the 
enterprise. 

I  might  go  on  and  mention  a  half  hundred  men  who  are 
noted  for  their  nerve  on  the  turf,  but  these  will  probably 
suffice.  I  ought  not  to  close,  however,  without  saying 
something  concerning  my  old  friends  Dick  Roche  and  Bob 
Pate.  In  the  whole  country  there  are  probably  not  two 
gamer  men  than  these.  They  are  ready  to  hazard  their  last 
dollar  on  any  kind  of  a  proposition  and  are  gentlemen  of 
the  old  school.  When  they  cash  in  their  last  stacks  to  the 
Grim  Banker,  I  want  to  be  able  to  write  on  the  scrolls  for 
them  : 

"  Here  lie  two  honest  men." 


CHAPTER  XVIL 
Waning  of  the  Gray. 

The  decline  of  the  gray  horse  on  the  race  track  is 
worthy  of  some  attention,  for  it  forcibly  impresses  one  who 
considers  such  things.  There  was  a  time  when  the  gray 
animal  was  a  mighty  power  on  the  race  track,  but  that  time 
is  passed,  and  the  pale-hued  equine  is  noted  not  simply  for 
his  scarcity. 

Once  they  were  the  kings  and  queens  of  the  turf,  and 
once  they  pulled  down  the  greatest  purses  and  stakes. 
Slowly  the  decline  began,  and  the  stock  gradually  faded 
away. 

Among  the  earliest  of  the  gray  ones  was  Gray  Diomed, 
a  great  racer  and  sire.  His  fame  was  widespread  and  he 
distanced  most  of  the  horses  of  his  day.  It  was  considered 
very  desirable  to  mate  a  mare  to  this  stallion,  and  his  get 
invariably  proved  winners. 

Next  might  be  named  the  famous  mare  Andrewetta, 
who  beat  the  celebrated  Boston  on  the  Broad  Rock  track 
and  made  the  best  time  of  the  day.  Her  performance  was 
looked  upon  as  nothing  short  of  marvelous. 

Then  came  Gamma,  a  Tennessee-bred  mare,  who  was 
very  fast  and  beat  many  good  horses  at  from  three  to  four 
miles. 

Gray  Eagle  was  in  the  class  of  this  color,  and  his  fame 
was  spread  from  the  Canadas  to  the  Gulf.  He  it  was  who 
took  the  measure  of  many  great  ones  and  was  the  pride  of 
old  Kentucky. 

Gray  Medoc,  by  old  Medoc,  was  celebrated  for  his  vic- 
tory over  Altof  and  the  other  notables  of  his  time.  He  got 
nothing  very  noted  in  the  stud,  but  some  of  his  produce 
were  fair  race  horses. 

A  distinguished  horse  of  his  time  was  Gray  Tyrant. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  horses  owned  by  John  Harper.  In 
seven  heats  he  was  at  length  beaten  by  Rally,  who  was 
owned  by  John  M.  Clay.     The  race  took  place  at  Versailles 


ii6 

and  is  on  record  there  as  one  of  the  notable  racing  events. 
The  writer  rode  Rally  at  the  time. 

Kite  was  bred  by  James  K.  Duke  in  Kentucky  and  won 
some  good  races.  He  was  not  a  great  horse,  but  he  was  a 
consistent  performer. 

One-eyed  Joe  came  from  the  green  fields  of  Virginia 
and  was  bred  by  Col.  James  Tally.  He  was  a  winner  at  all 
distances  and  was  regarded  as  a  very  formidable  animal. 

Little  Arthur  was  by  Glencoe  and  was  owned  in  Ten- 
nessee by  Bill  Cheatham.  He  was  a  fair  race  horse,  but  did 
nothing  particular  in  the  stud. 

One  of  the  great  ones  was  Lightning,  a  celebrated  horse 
belonging  to  Boyden  &  Chinn.     He  was  a  sire  of  note. 

His  full  brother,  Thunder,  did  some  good  work  on  the 
track  and  left  behind  him  a  scant  progeny. 

Two  other  full  brothers  were  Lodestone  and  Thunder, 
who  did  well  and  made  quite  a  reputation,  but  they  got 
nothing  in  particular. 

Gray  Fannie  was  celebrated  as  a  dam,  but  she  was  not 
especially  fast. 

Bill  Bass  was  owned  by  Gen.  Price,  of  Missouri,  and 
was  just  a  fairly  good  animal. 

Gabriel  was  very  fast  at  one  and  one-quarter  miles  and 
could  show  his  heels  to  some  of  the  speediest  racers  there 
were  on  any  track.  He  had  more  sense,  according  to  horse- 
men, than  any  other  animal  that  ever  stepped  upon  a  track. 
It  is  claimed  that  he  always  watched  to  get  the  best  of  the 
start  at  the  post  and  had  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  others,  look- 
ing for  the  slightest  attempt  to  break.  Then  he  knew  and 
realized  to  the  fullest  extent  just  what  was  expected  of  him. 
It  was  his  desire  to  always  come  first  under  the  wire,  and  he 
might  be  depended  upon  from  start  to  finish  to  do  his  level 
best. 

Sallie  Ward,  Jr.,  was  a  gray  mare  owned  by  Richard 
Ten  Broeck.  She  was  taken  into  Canada,  and  the  writer 
rode  her  in  some  of  the  best  races  there.  There  were  few 
who  could  beat  her  when  she  was  extended.  This  mare  won 
thousands  of  dollars  for  her  owner  and  was  considered  one 
of  the  best  of  her  time. 

Reel  was  one  of  the  grandest  of  the  grays.  She  was  a 
mare  that  could  go  all  distances,  and  there  were  few  that 


117 

could  even  get  within  striking  distance  of  her.  She  left  the 
track,  where  she  had  made  herself  famous  by  her  wonderful 
bursts  of  speed,  and  went  into  the  stud.  There  she  produced 
some  of  the  grandest  performers  that  the  world  has  ever 
known. 

Ann  Dunn,  her  daughter,  bade  fair  to  become  a  wonder ; 
but  she  met  with  an  accident  when  she  was  three  years  old 
that  caused  her  death.  At  New  Orleans  she  had  won  the  first 
heat,  when  she  slipped  and  fell,  breaking  both  her  forelegs. 
Her  owner  was  forced  to  kill  her,  and  when  he  did  so  he 
lost  a  valuable  property,  for  there  was  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  she  would  become  as  fast,  or  nearly  so,  as  her 
famous  dam. 

Jig  was  owned  by  Col.  Kirkman  in  Alabama,  and  was  a 
fair  performer  and  worthy  of  having  in  any  man's  string. 

Lilac  was  not  a  very  fast  mare,  but  she  was  a  good  pro- 
ducer. In  the  early  part  of  her  career  she  slipped  on  the  ice 
and  so  severely  injured  herself  that  she  never  fully  recov- 
ered. But  for  this  unfortunate  accident  she  might  have 
made  her  mark  as  a  performer.  Her  hind  quarters  were 
partially  paralyzed. 

Gray  Cloud  was  bred  by  Gen.  Rowett,  of  Illinois,  and 
was  afterward  purchased  by  Noah  Armstrong,  who  ran  him 
with  success,  winning  a  number  of  stakes.  He  liked  the 
mud  and  rarely  lost  when  the  going  was  to  his  liking.  Much 
might  be  said  on  this  particular  subject  regarding  this  cele- 
brated horse,  but  Gray  Cloud  was  a  good  one  and  was  able 
to  impress  the  beholder  wherever  he  was  raced. 

Little  Blue  was  bred  and  owned  by  John  Harper. 
From  one  to  three  miles  he  was  especially  good  and  won 
many  races  for  his  owner,  who  prized  him  very  highly  for 
his  consistency. 

Josh  was  bred  in  Kentucky  by  Webb  Ross  and  won 
many  races,  being  a  full  brother  to  Bob  Schnell,  or  the 
Dutchman,  who  was  a  celebrated  three-year-old. 

Sarah  Miller  was  a  famous  mare  of  her  time,  and  she 
won  a  great  many  rich  stakes  and  purses. 

Falcon  was  a  full  sister  to  Gray  Eagle  and  was  the  great 
grandam  of  the  mighty  Hanover.  She  did  little  on  the 
track,  but  was  distinguished  for  her  progeny. 


ii8 

Ophelia  was  the  dam  of  Falcon  and  Gray  Eagle  and  but 
little  is  known  of  what  she  did  on  the  track  as  a  performer. 
Her  claim  to  distinction  lies  in  her  produce,  which  was 
numerous. 

Grisette  traces  back  to  the  Dance  family,  and  produced 
some  good  animals.     She  was  only  a  fair  performer. 

The  majority  of  the  grays  that  have  been  trained  proved 
good  horses,  and  there  are  few  of  the  color  that  have  proved 
to  be  total  failures.  They  are  noted  for  their  consistency  as 
performers  and  for  their  remarkable  speed  and  endurance. 
There  has  hardly  been  one  of  them  that  could  not  go  any 
distance  and  always  be  depended  upon  to  do  his  or  her  level 
best. 

The  general  opinion  is  that  this  gray  color  was  obtained 
from  early  Arabian  crosses,  and  on  the  desert  it  was  much 
sought  after  by  the  Bedouins,  who  needed  speed  more  than 
anything  else  in  their  marauding  trips  across  the  arid  plains. 
A  great  many  of  the  Arabs  were  nearly  milk-white,  with 
black  spots.  Fysall,  the  last  importation  by  Keene  Richards, 
of  Georgetown,  Ky.,  came  from  Arabia  and  was  as  white  as 
snow,  with  a  few  black  spots  cropping  out  here  and  there. 
He  was  never  trained  and  came  here  as  a  stallion  for  the 
brood  farm.  It  is  claimed  for  this  animal  that  he  was  the 
purest  of  all  the  Arabs,  but  he  did  not  succeed  to  any  extent. 
Mr.  Richards  spent  five  years  in  Arabia  learning  the  Ara- 
bian language,  so  as  to  be  able  to  understand  and  talk  with 
the  sheiks  of  the  desert,  in  order  to  get  the  very  best  of  the 
animals  they  had.  The  natives  were  so  enraged  that,  when 
he  started  to  leave  with  his  purchases,  they  followed  him 
across  the  desert  and  made  him  give  up  some  of  the  horses 
he  had  bought. 

The  most  probable  cause  for  the  decline  of  the  gray 
horse  is  the  breeding  and  intermixing  with  the  more  pre- 
dominant colors,  such  as  browns,  bays  and  blacks.  Thus  the 
further  that  we  breed  away  from  the  Arab  the  further  we 
go  toward  extinguishing  this  color.  Now  and  then  one 
crops  out  that  bears  the  pale  hue,  but  they  are  few  and  far 
between,  and  the  tendency  is  toward  the  ending  of  this  color 
as  race  horses.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  there  are  no  gray 
horses  amountmg  to  anything  on  the  turf,  but  only  seek  to 
show  that  he  is  not  so  numerous  as  he  was  at  one  time 


119 

Every  year  there  is  a  fair  gray  horse  or  mare  on  the  turf, 
and  some  of  them  have  won  purses  in  latter  days.  But  there 
have  been  no  stake  horses  of  any  consequence  for  many 
years. 

It  is  possible,  but  not  probable,  that  a  return  to  this  con- 
sistent color  will  ever  be  made.  However,  it  may  be  a  cen- 
tury before  the  color  is  entirely  stamped  out.  Now  it  seems 
that  the  tendency  is  in  this  direction. 

The  Arabs  brought  here  by  Keene  Richards  all  proved 
failures,  although  they  were  bred  to  such  mares  by  imp. 
Glencoe  as  Blonde,  Miss  Duke,  Peytona.  From  the  latter 
probably  came  the  best  of  the  get,  Transylvania,  who  ran 
one  mile  in  1:48  and  could  not  repeat  this  performance. 
They  were  also  crossed  to  the  very  best  Wagner  and 
Medoc  mares,  who  were  succeeding  to  the  native  stallions. 
The  famous  Lux  was  bred  to  one  of  them  and  produced  a 
little,  scrawny  fellow  who  could  do  nothing  whatever. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  of  all  the  grays  was  the  famous 
gray  mare  Ariel,  by  American  Eclipse,  who  lost  the  $20,000 
match  (three-mile  heats)  to  Flirtilla,  Jr.,  by  Sir  Archie,  over 
the  Union  Course,  Long  Island,  this  being  one  of  the 
many  famous  matches  made  and  run  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  The  latter  section  being  victorious  in  this 
contest,  people  from  every  State  in  the  Union  traveled, 
some  of  them  for  weeks,  on  horseback  to  be  present  at  this 
great  race,  where  thousands  of  dollars  changed  hands 
through  the  admirers  of  these  two  champion  mares  on  the 
result  of  this  great  match.  Whilst  they  did  not  think 
Ariel's  condition  on  this  occasion  was  just  what  it  should 
have  been — and  she  got  beat — yet  this  great  mare,  during 
the  time  she  was  on  the  track,  met  and  defeated  nearly 
every  horse,  mare  or  gelding  of  any  repute,  and  at  all 
distances.  She  traveled  from  Long  Island  to  the  Gulf  and 
back  by  land,  more  than  four  thousand  miles.  Frequently, 
during  this  trip,  at  night,  when  she  would  be  stopped  at 
some  point  to  rest,  after  a  hard,  irksome  day's  travel,  she 
would  often  be  without  shelter  of  any  kind,  save  perhaps 
the  buff  of  a  tree  on  the  roadside  and  the  canopy  of  the 
heavens.  And  now,  with  all  of  our  grand  improvements, 
both  in  horses  and  in  all  racing  matters,  which  no  sane  per- 
son will  dispute,  yet  the  author  has  to  pause  and  think 


I20 


whether  or  not  we,  in  this  great  age  of  progress  in  turf 
matters,  have  not  lost  some  of  the  great  hardihood,  if  not 
other  valuable  property,  that  the  best  horses  of  those  days 
had. 


CHAPTER  XVHL 
Tales  of  the  Turf. 

At  this  juncture  several  Uttle  anecdotes  of  incidents  that 
have  come  under  my  observation  on  the  turf  occur  to  me. 
I  know  a  turfman  is  always  ready  to  listen  to  anything  that 
is  entertaining  or  amusing  concerning  a  horse  and  racing. 

It  happened  after  the  war,  say  about  1866,  at  Lexington 
The  spring  races  had  begun  and  there  was  a  gray  and  a  sor. 
rel  in  a  race.  I  have  forgotten  their  names  now,  for  they 
were  of  mediocre  ability  and  have  never  been  heard  of  since. 
Therefore,  their  names  are  of  no  importance.  The  gray  was 
the  favorite  and  everybody  thought  he  had  only  to  step 
over  the  track  and  claim  the  purse.  Several  bookmakers 
were  at  the  side  of  the  track,  taking  bets,  and  were  getting 
wagers  on  all  the  horses  in  the  race  except  the  sorrel. 

Col.  John  Morrison,  a  prominent  gentlaman  of  St.  Louis 
at  the  present  time  and  one  of  the  cleverest  fellows  on  earth, 
whom  everybody  knows  and  everybody  likes,  was  then  but 
a  youth,  but  he  was  born  in  old  Kentucky  and  naturally 
possessed  a  love  for  the  thoroughbred.  He  stood  at  the  ring- 
side, watching  the  bets  being  put  down  on  the  gray.  Sud- 
denly an  inspiration  struck  him,  and,  walking  up  to  the  lead- 
ing bookmaker,  he  said  : 

"  What  odds  will  5^ou  give  on  the  sorrel? " 

"I'll  make  it  a  hundred  to  one  sonny,"  said  the  book- 
maker, patronizingly.     "  How  much  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  Ten  dollars  worth,"  said  Col.  Morrison,  not  to  be 
bluffed. 

The  horses  were  sent  to  the  post,  and  something  sud- 
denly went  wrong  with  the  gray.  He  had  the  race  at  his 
mercy  and  could  have  won  easily  over  the  field  had  he  been 
in  fix.  His  withdrawal  left  the  bets  as  they  were,  and  the 
start  was  made.  The  sorrel  was  full  of  speed  and  no  one 
knew  it.  "  He  just  stepped  out  and  made  the  others  trail 
under  the  wire  behind  him.  Col.  Morrison  collected  $1,000 
from  the  bookmaker,  and  as  he  handed  it  out  the  latter  said  : 

"  Say,  how  did  you  know  that  sorrel  was  going  to  win  ?" 


"^Oh,  I  know  everything-,"  was  the  suave  response,  and 
the  lad  went  away,  leaving  the  bookmaker  greatly  mystified. 
He  always  believed  afterward  that  a  job  had  been  fixed  up 
on  him. 

In  this  connection  another  little  incident  comes  to  me 
that  shows  the  quick  repartee  of  the  old-time  Southern  negro 
and  at  the  same  time  his  respectfulness.  There  was  a  white 
man  at  the  track  whom  a  negro  had  offended  in  some  way. 
It  was  nothing  serious  and  there  was  really  no  reason  for 
the  man's  display  of  violent  anger  w^hen  they  met  on  the 
track. 

•'  I'm  going  to  whip  the  life  out  of  you,"  said  the  white 
man.  preparing  to  make  good  his  words. 

"  Boss,"  replied  the  negro,  innocently,"  ef  yous  is  gwine 
ter  do  hit  please  don't  do  it  on  de  racetrack.  Any whar else 
an'  I  won't  say  a  word." 

**  Why  not  on  the  race  track?"  asked  the  man  becom- 
ing interested  in  spite  of  himself. 

"  Case,  said  the  negro,  "  on  de  race  track  all  men  air 
ekul.  Dat  is,  dar  air  two  place  whar  day  air  ekul.  One  air 
on  de  turf  an'  de  othah  air  under  de  turf.  So  you  done  see 
you   cain't  hit  me  heah  wif  de  propah  kerspec'  ter  youse'f." 

Of  course,  this  caused  a  laugh,  and  the  result  was  that 
the  man  forget  his  anger,  handed  the  negro  a  dollar  to  buy 
himself  some  gin,  and  they  parted  the  best  of  friends. 

I  remember  once  standing  in  the  grandstand  at  the 
Louisville  course,  beautiful  Churchill  Downs.  There  was 
an  old  negress  not  far  away  from  me.  It  was  a  long  time 
until  the  races  were  to  begin,  but  I  had  gone  there  early  in 
order  to  see  some  friends,  and  I  became  weary  of  waiting. 
So,  as  a  matter  of  diversion,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  old 
woman. 

"  Aunty,  why  are  you  out  here?"  I  asked.  "  You  are 
surely  not  going  to  bet  away  the  money  you  have  worked 
hard  for  all  winter." 

"  No,  indeedy,"  was  the  pompous  response.  "  I  wucks 
too  hard  for  my  money  ter  gib  hit  ter  er  ole  gamier.  I  air 
heah  for  de  puppus  er  seein'  my  Mose,  dat's  whut." 

"Ah!  Your  fellow." 

"  No,  hits  not  my  fellar;  hit's  my  boy,  Mose.'' 

"  Tell   me  about  him,"  said  I,  becoming  interested. 


123 

"  Well,  you  done  sees,"  she  said,  earnestly,  "  I  alius 
knowed  dat  air  boy  war  gwine  termake  his  mahk  even  when 
he  war  er  little  bow-legged  thing  in  my  ahms.  So  when  he 
growed  up  to  be  'bout  ten  yeahs  ole  er  gemman  comes  erlong 
an'  gets  me  ter  let  Mose  learn  ter  ride  race  horses.  I  says 
all  right  an'  I  hain't  seed  de  bressed  child  sense. 

"  He's  been  erway  in  de  East  or  somewhar  wif  his 
marstah,  an'  dat  boy's  been  learning  ter  ride.  Yistiddy  I 
heard  dat  de  stable  war  come  back  ter  Loosville  an'  a  cullud 
gemman  whut  I  knows  tells  me  Mose  air  air  gwine  ter  ride  one 
er  de  bosses  in  de  race.  De  gemman  says  dat  dis  air  defust 
time  dat  Mose  evah  sot  on  a  hoss  in  er  race  an'  I  wants  ter 
see  dat  air  boy  come  in  ahead.  De  same  culled  gemman  tells 
me  dat  Mose  air  on  er  winnah  an'  dat  he  am  a  very  long 
shot." 

"  What  stable  is  it  ?  "  I  asked,  and  she  informed  me  of 
the  name  of  the  owner.  I  then  looked  on  the  program  and 
found  the  very  horse  in  question.  Just  for  luck  I  placed  a 
small  bet  on  the  horse  afterward,  and  then  went  over  to 
where  the  old  woman  stood  leaning  against  the  railing  of  the 
grandstand.  I  told  her  when  the  horses  came  to  the  post 
and  pointed  out  the  one  on  which  Mose  sat.  She  was  de- 
lighted and  was  trembling  all  over  as  she  watched  him,  as 
proud  of  that  little  bunch  of  ink  as  any  mother  in  the  land. 
Finally,  the  start  was  made  and  she  became  anxious  for  him 
to  win. 

I  stood  near  and  I  heard  her  shout  from  time  to  time  as 
Mose  was  leading.  At  the  three-quarter  she  gave  a  groan  of 
despair  as  another  horse  moved  up  from  the  rear  and  joined 
the  leader.  She  thought  it  was  all  over.  Down  the  stretch 
the  two  horses  sped  neck  and  neck.  The  old  woman  was 
almost  frantic.  She  waved  her  hands  in  the  air  and  shouted 
at  the  top  of  her  voice:  "  Come  on,  you  Mose  ;  don't  you  see 
yoah  mammy's  watchin'  you  ? '' 

Within  twenty  yards  of  the  wire  Mose  forged  ahead  and 
won  by  a  neck,  but  the  old  woman  did  not  at  once  under- 
stand which  had  won,  and  she  asked  me.  When  I  told  her 
she  let  out  a  yell  that  shook  the  rafters.  Afterward  I 
walked  down  to  the  scale  room,  where  the  boy  was,  and  got 
him  and  brought  him  up  to  his  mother.  It  was  truly  an  af- 
fecting sight  to  see  her  fondle  the  boy  who  had  just  won  that 


124 

race.     It  would  have  broken  her  heart  had  he  lost,  and  they 
mingled  their  tears  in  front  of  6,000  people. 

A  gentleman  whose  ancestors  were  in  the  procession 
that  crossed  the  Red  Sea  in  the  days  of  Pharoah  and  Moses 
is  among  my  acquaintances.  He  keeps  a  clothing  store,  but 
he  has  sporting  blood  in  him,  and  there  was  never  a  day  one 
season  that  he  did  not  come  to  me  and  whisper  in  my  ear  : 
"  Haf  you  anyding  goot,  mine  dear  f rient  ?  "  I  gave  him  two 
or  three  tips  that  I  thought  well  of  and  he  played  them  and 
won.  But  after  a  time  it  became  monotonous  to  have  him 
haul  me  out  of  crowds  where  I  was  talking  with  some  gentle- 
men and  ask  the  same  question.  By  this  time  it  had  got  so 
that  he  came  to  me  after  every  race  and  wanted  informa- 
tion. He  would  often  drag  me  off  into  dark  places,  under 
the  steps  or  in  the  recesses.  Once  he  pulled  a  sandwich  out 
of  his  pocket  and  said  suavely: 

"  Meester  Davis,  loog  whad  I  have  got  for  you.  Vat  er 
nice  santwich.     Gif  me  some  tips." 

This  was  the  last  straw.  I  resolved  to  break  him  then 
and  there  and  give  him  such  a  jolt  that  he  would  never  come 
near  a  race  track  again.  Looking  over  my  program,  I  picked 
out  a  horse  that  I  knew  would  figure  about  200  to  i.  I  was 
sure  he  did  not  have  the  slightest  chance  to  win,  for  the 
owner  had  told  me  he  had  been  sick  and  that  he  was  just 
putting  him  in  the  race  for  work — that  he  could  not  win. 

"  Morris,"  said  I,  "  here  is  a  good  one,  but  I  want  you 
to  swear  that  you  will  not  give  it  to  any  one  else,  because  we 
are  going  to  make  one  of  the  grandest  killings  of  the  year 
with  him.     It  will  make  us  all  rich." 

He  swore  by  the  weeping  Rachel  and  Joseph's  coat  of 
many  colors  that  he  would  allow  himself  to  be  cut  into  pieces 
by  wild  Indians  sooner  than  divulge  the  secret. 

"  Play  this  horse,''  I  whispered,  pointing  to  the  name  of 
the  no-account,  "  and  put  every  cent  you  can  beg,  borrow  or 
steal  on  him.  Soak  something,  Morris.  You  must  have  a 
good,  big  bet  down  on  him." 

He  thanked  me  and  went  away  to  hustle  for  money.  He 
saw  every  friend  he  had  and  borrowed  everything  he  could 
possibly  get.  Then  he  had  quite  a  roll  on  him,  all  of  which 
he  wagered  on  my  selection. 


125 

I  had  down  a  good  bet  on  the  favorite,  on  whom  there 
really  was  a  tip,  and  sat  waiting  for  the  race  to  be  run.  The 
favorite  was  beaten  a  head.  As  I  sat  there,  disgusted,  I  felt 
a  gentle  tap  on  my  shoulder  and  the  well-known  voice  of 
my  "Old  Man  of  the  Sea"  said  suavely: 

"Meester  Davis,  how  can  I  thank  you?  Vill  you  come 
down  and  have  a  beer  ?"     He  won  so  easy,  too." 

Words  fail  to  actually  interpret  the  thoughts  that  surged 
through  my  brain. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
Men  I  Have  Met. 

During  the  more  than  half  a  century  that  I  have  spent 
on  the  turf  I  have  met  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
from  all  sections  of  the  country.  They  came  from  the  frozen 
and  sterile  North,  from  the  golden  hills  of  the  West,  the 
magnolia-scented  groves  of  the  South  and  from  the  aristo- 
cratic East.  I  have  been  in  close  connection  with  the  most 
of  those  of  the  present  time  and  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  the  royalty  of  turfdom  in  the  olden  days. 

Beginning  away  back  in  the  early  part  of  another 
century,  of  course  I  have  seen  the  friends  of  my  boyhood 
slip  silently  away  into  the  realms  of  eternity  as  flowers  bloom 
and  wither.  I  have  seen  their  sons  grow  to  manhood  and 
then  in  turn  sink  into  the  arms  of  the  grim  reaper  under  the 
fell  hand  of  disease  or  the  weight  of  years.  Father  Time 
does  not  touch  us  all  with  the  same  harshness.  With  me  he 
has  been  gentle  indeed.  Eighty  times  has  my  natal  day 
passed,  and  now  at  this  writing  I  am  able  to  walk  almost 
any  distance.  I  could  mount  a  yearling  and  break  him  just 
as  easily  now  as  I  could  when  I  was  a  boy. 

But  others  whom  I  loved  were  not  as  favored  as  "  the 
old  veteran."  The  flowers  blossom  on  their  graves,  but  in 
my  heart  their  memory  is  just  as  dearly  cherished  as  it  was 
in  the  olden  days  when  I  walked  hand  in  hand  with  them  in 
earthly  paths. 

Probably  the  grandest  man  I  ever  knew  was  Col.  W.  R. 
Johnson,  sometimes  called  "  the  Napoleon  of  the  American 
turf,"  because  of  his  colossal  turf  ventures,  his  boldness  in 
making  matches  between  the  celebarted  horses  of  his  time, 
and  through  it  all  characterized  by  his  sterling  integrity  and 
gentleness  of  deportment.  There  was  perhaps  no  man  in  the 
whole  South  and  West  that  stood  as  high  socially  and  in  a 
business  way.  His  word  was  worth  more  than  the  bond  of 
most  men.  Everybody  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  loved 
him  and  had  a  kind  word  to  say  for  him.  He  was  a  man 
among  men,  and  towered  as  a  giant  amid  a  race  of  giants,  for 
the  men  of  the  South  were  all  big  men  in  heart. 


127 

He  owned  such  horses  as  Henry,  Boston  and  Flirtillaj 
besides  many  other  celebrities.  No  man  who  was  ever  on 
the  continent  ever  owned  half  so  many  rarely  good  ones,  and 
they  took  part  in  all  the  great  races.  There  was  never  a 
time  that  his  horses  were  not  earning  money  for  him  and 
defying  the  other  notables  of  the  day.  Col.  Johnson 
breathed  his  last  at  the  St.  Charles  Hotel  in  New  Orleans 
during  the  winter  of  1849. 

John  and  Robert  Stephens  were  gentlemen  of  the  old 
school  and  owned  many  great  horses.  Their  home  was  on 
the  Jersey  Heights  in  New  Jersey.  Like  Col.  Johnson,  they 
were  educated  and  refined  gentlemen,  and  they  were  also 
great  match  makers.  When  they  thought  they  had  a  horse 
in  their  stable  that  was  good  enough  to  run  against  some 
other  one  they  did  not  hesitate  to  match  him  against  the 
other.  The  celebrated  Eclipse  was  in  their  string  when  he 
beat  Henry,  and  they  must  have  won  thousands  of  dollars 
on  the  victory  aside  from  the  stakes  of  the  match. 

In  a  business  way  the  fame  of  these  gentlemen  was  wide- 
spread, and  they  numbered  their  friends  by  the  thousands  in 
all  parts  of  the  country.  In  the  Nc^rth,  South,  East  and 
West  the  name  of  Stephens  was  held  in  the  greatest  respect 
and  everybody  had  expressions  of  admiration  for  their 
daring  as  turfmen  and  their  gracefulness  as  gentlemen.  The 
soul  of  honor,  they  had  but  to  tell  a  man  they  would  take  his 
bet  for  any  amount,  and  the  latter  knew  that  if  he  won  the 
money  would  be  paid  at  any  time  he  demanded  it. 

Then  there  was  Major  Thomas  Doswell,  whose  home 
was  at  Hanover  Junction,  near  where  Henry  Clay,  the  great 
commoner,  was  born.  He  was  the  owner  of  the  celebrated 
Planet,  Fannie  Washington,  Inspector,  by  Boston,  Nat  Pope, 
Sarah  Washington,  the  dam  of  the  most  of  the  others,  and 
many  horses  that  reached  the  highest  pinnacle  of  equine 
fame.  I  fancy  I  can  see  him  yet  galloping  about  the  track 
on  his  little  black  horse,  giving  instructions  to  his  rider  at 
various  points  in  the  race.  It  he  saw  the  jockey  was  making 
too  much  pace,  he  would  tell  him  to  slacken  it,  and  if  he  was 
going  too  slow,  he  would  instruct  him  to  let  out  a  wrap  or 
two.  In  this  way  he  helped  the  boy  to  ride  the  race,  and 
often  was  the  sole  cause  of  a  victory  for  his  horses. 


128 

He  was  a  large  planter,  had  a  beautiful  home  and  was 
elegant  and  refined  in  his  manners.  He  was  very  wealthy, 
and  there  was  not  a  man  connected  with  the  turf,  in  business, 
politics  or  in  the  social  whirl  but  was  glad  and  proud  to  be 
able  to  say  that  Major  Doswell  was  his  friend.  When  he 
died  the  turf  lost  a  valuable  adjunct,  but  behind  him  he  left 
several  sons  and  daughters,  and  they  are  all  said  to  inherit 
the  sterling  traits  that  made  the  name  of  the  father  illustrious. 

A  little  incident  relating  to  Major  Doswell  occurs  to  me. 
I  had  been  introduced  to  him  at  a  hotel  in  New  York,  and 
six  years  later  I  again  saw  him  at  the  Mills  House,  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.  I  was  sitting  talking  to  Jerome  Edger,  a  trainer, 
and  the  Major  was  sitting  alone  not  far  away. 

'*  See  that  little  old  gentleman  sitting  there,''  I  said  to 
Edger.  "  That  is  the  celebrated  Major  Doswell,  who  used 
to  ride  a  little  black  horse  around  the  track  and  make  his 
jockey  win  races.  He  knows  as  much  about  racing  as  any 
man  on  the  turf  to-day.'' 

The  little  eyes  of  the  Major  twinkled,  and,  addressing 
me  in  a  tone  that  was  perfectly  audible  to  all  about  the 
table,  he  said : 

"  Young  man,  you  must  have  been  brought  up  in  the 
old  school  or  you  would  not  have  known  about  the  little 
black  horse." 

We  became  fast  friends  at  once,  and  we  would  have 
taken  a  social  drink  but  for  the  fact  that  the  Major  was  not 
from  Kentucky  and  did  not  believe  that  a  little  wine  is  good 
for  the  stomach's  sake. 

Capt.  John  Belcher,  who  lived  at  the  Fairfield  race, 
track  in  Virginia,  not  far  from  Richmond,  was  also  a  cele- 
brated trainer  and  owner,  and  had  many  of  the  famous 
horses  of  his  time  in  his  care.  He  trained  Boston  for 
Col.  Johnson,  and  the  great  son  of  Boston  Red  Eye, 
One-eyed  Joe,  Die  Claperton,  and  a  host  of  other  distin- 
guished horses.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  standard  of 
morals,  the  most  loyal  of  men  to  his  employers  and  a  model 
example  to  a  race  track.  He  reared  a  family,  was  a  kind 
and  affectionate  father,  and  had  the  confidence  of  everybody 
who  knew  him.  His  descendants  still  live  in  old  Virginia, 
and  they  are  among  the  most  respected  residents  of  the 
famous  Old  Dominion.      In  that  State  the  name  of  John 


129 

Belcher  will  not  soon  be  forg-otten,  and  loving  hands  still 
annually  place  flowers  on  his  last  resting  place  as  a  mark  of 
esteem  and,  love  for  his  memory. 

Col.  David  McDaniel  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  first 
turned  up  as  a  racing  man  in  North  Carolina.  In  his  early 
days  he  was  a  large  trader  and  made  thousands  of  dollars 
in  this  way.  He  drifted  into  Richmond,  Va.,  and  made  that 
place  his  home.  He  bought  up  large  properties  in  Rich- 
mond and  Broad  Rock  County,  and  when  he  died  there 
years  afterward  he  left  a  vast  estate.  On  the  track  his  fame 
was  widespread.  He  owned  such  celebrities  as  Frank 
Allen,  Tar  River,  Carolina,  Harry  Bassett,  Joe  Daniels, 
Hubbard,  and  Lida  Stanhope.  He  trained  the  latter  and 
owned  an  interest  in  the  latter  famous  mare,  Harry  Bas- 
sett brought  him  the  greatest  fame,  and  he  was  known  the 
world  over  as  "  the  owner  of  Harry  Bassett."  He  trained 
and  owned  the  horse  at  the  time  he  beat  the  celebrated 
Longfellow  and  trailed  the  banner  of  old  Kentucky  in  the 
dust. 

While  not  a  scholar  and  a  man  of  the  greatest  sim- 
plicity, he  was  a  shrewd  tactician,  a  bold  bettor,  with  the 
nerve  of  a  lion,  and  a  gentleman  withal.  He  was  generous 
almost  to  a  fault,  and  no  man  ever  applied  to  him  for 
assistance  in  a  worthy  cause  and  went  away  empty  handed. 
Many  a  tear  was  shed  in  Virginia  when  Death  laid  his  icy 
hand  on  the  silvered  head  of  David  McDaniel. 

David  Branch  was  a  gentleman  of  North  Carolina  of 
the  highest  social  prestige  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the 
turf.  He  owned  some  of  the  good  horses  of  his  day  and 
wielded  a  vast  influence.  Modest  to  a  marked  degree,  he 
did  not  hold  up  his  talents  to  the  world  and  carefully 
avoided  notoriety  of  any  form.  He  was  a  leader  in  spite  of 
this  fact,  and  his  advice  was  much  sought  after. 

Col.  Wade  Hampton  was  a  princely  gentleman  of  the 
olden  time,  and  his  home  was  at  Millward,  S.  C,  five  miles 
back  of  Columbia.  He  was  a  wealthy  planter  and  a  large 
importer  of  horses.  He  imported  Sovereign,  Rowton, 
Emily  and  many  others  that  do  not  occur  to  my  mind  at 
this  moment.  On  the  American  turf  he  was  a  leader,  and 
at  once  came  to  the  front.  He  bred  and  owned  Monarch, 
Fannie  and  Childe  Harold,  all  of  whom  attained  prominence 


130 

on  the  turf.  But  as  a  turfman  he  was  admired  by  every 
one,  for  he  did  everything  in  his  power  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  turf. 

The  great  Henry  Clay  once  said  to  me  :  "  I  have  read 
of  and  known  many  great  men,  but  I  never  in  my  life  have 
met  with  and  known  such  a  princely  gentleman." 

Col.  Hampton  had  presented  Henry  Clay  with  sev- 
eral brood  mares.  Among  them  was  the  celebrated  Mar- 
garet Woods,  the  best  of  all  the  Priam  mares,  both  as  a 
performer  and  a  producer.  Cassandra  nor  the  Queen  was 
her  equal,  and  Mr.  Clay  certainly  got  a  treasure.  In  fact, 
she  was  the  dam  of  most  of  the  great  race  horses  bred  and 
owned  by  John  M.  Clay. 

Col.  Matt  Singleton  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  in  the 
Edgefield  district,  and  was  a  most  popular  turfman  of  his 
day.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  turf  and  imported 
Prima  Donna  and  a  dozen  others.  Hero,  the  sire  of  Jefif 
Davis,  was  also  imported  by  him.  Many  of  his  mares  were 
sent  over  the  mountains  to  Kentucky  by  me,  to  be  bred  to 
Glencoe,  Boston,  Wagner  and  the  celebrated  stallions  of  Ken- 
tucky. Often  he  kept  his  mares  there  for  two  years  and  got 
two  crops  of  colts. 

Another  noted  turfman  of  the  time  was  Maj.  Thomas  G. 
Bacon,  from  the  same  place.  He  was  a  man  possessed  of 
the  confidence  of  all  the  people  of  his  State  because  of  his 
probity.  He  had  a  large  stable  and  bred  and  bought  some 
of  the  best  horses  of  the  day.  Among  them  was  the  cele- 
brated Nina,  the  dam  of  Planet,  Exchequer  and  others.  He 
was  of  a  very  quiet  disposition,  yet  he  was  possessed  of 
nerve  of  the  highest  order.  An  illustration  of  this  was 
when  he  matched  Nina  againt  Red  Eye  for  $10,000  and  lost 
by  a  head.  She  ought  to  have  won  the  race,  and  everybody 
who  witnessed  the  incident  felt  that  such  was  the  case. 
Although  he  had  lost  a  great  sum  of  money  on  the  event. 
Major  Bacon  simply  smiled  and  seemed  to  be  not  in  the 
least  disturbed.  For  many  years  he  raced  from  South 
Carolina  to  New  York  and  all  over  the  South.  Everybody 
liked  him  and  he  had  a  host  of  friends.  It  was  said  jokingly 
by  the  high  rollers  of  the  time  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  lose 
one's  money  to  so  polite  a  gentleman.  He  had  a  pleasant 
smile  always  on  his  face  and  never  took  an  unfair  advantage 


131 

of  any  one.  He  might  always  be  depended  upon  as  fair  and 
honorable. 

Capt.  Crowell,  of  Georgia,  was  known  all  over  the 
United  States  as  the  owner  of  John  Bascom  and  Gano,  and 
was  a  man  of  great  wealth.  There  probably  never  was  in 
the  whole  turf  history  of  Georgia  a  man  who  stood  as  high 
as  Capt.  Crowell.  He  matched  Gano  against  Boston  once 
for  $10,000  a  side.  Two  days  before  the  time  set  for  the 
race  Gano  broke  down  and  Capt.  Crowell  was  forced  to 
pay  forfeiture. 

On  the  day  the  race  was  to  have  been  run  Capt.  Crow- 
ell and  a  number  of  gentlemen  were  sitting  at  dinner,  and 
during  a  lapse  in  the  conversation  Capt.  Crowell  asked  Col. 
W.  R.  Johnson  what  constituted  the  modern  race  horse. 

"  Speed,  sir,"  was  the  reply. 

"What  else?" 

"  More  speed.'' 

"  Then  what  other  essential  is  there?'' 

"  Still  more  speed,"  said  Col.  Johnson  nonchalantly. 

Griff  Edmondson,  of  Georgia,  was  a  noted  character  of 
his  day.  He  was  always  to  be  found  on  the  race  track  and 
owned  several  horses.  None  of  them  was  of  especial  note. 
He  was  a  man  of  fine  character. 

Robert  Glover  came  from  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  was  a  con- 
stant follower  of  the  turf.  There  was  never  a  race  of  the 
early  days  that  he  did  not  attend.  While  he  never  owned  a 
horse,  he  was  so  popular  with  the  owners  that  two  or  three 
horses  were  named  for  him.  In  sporting  matters  he  stood 
high,  although  he  was  more  of  a  gambler  than  a  turfman- 
Gentlemen  cultivated  him  because  of  his  fine  qualities  as  an 
entertainer  and  his  suavity  of  manner.  He  had  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  men  and  horses  of  the  time  and  was  a  perfect 
encyclopedia  on  these  subjects.  His  memory  was  something 
wonderful,  and  it  attracted  attention  wherever  he  went. 

Judge  John  Hunter,  of  Alabama,  was  the  owner  of  the 
celebrated  mare  Blonde,  Mary  Consul  and  a  few  others  of 
prominence.  It  was  he  that  went  to  Charleston  and  bought 
Highlander  for  $10,000  from  Thomas  Puryear.  The  horse 
had  never  lost  a  race  up  to  that  time.  The  purchase  was 
made  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  representative  of  the  State 
of  Alabama  in  the  State  Stake  at  New  Orleans.     This  race 


132 

was  won  by  Lexington,  who  beat  Highlander,  Le  Compte 
and  Rube.  Alabama  almost  went  broke  on  the  race.  Judge 
Hunter  was  a  distinguished  jurist,  a  man  of  vast  fortune, 
and  reared  a  large  family.  Everybody  held  him  in  the  high- 
est esteem,  and  when  he  passed  away  to  the  darkness  of 
eternity  both  the  turf  and  the  State  lost  an  eminent  repre- 
sentative. 

Capt.  William  Williamson  was  born  in  Virginia  and 
came  of  the  old  school.  He  was  interested  with  Capt.  Wm. 
Cottrell  in  the  ownership  of  several  great  race  horses.  His 
chief  claim  to  attention  in  the  early  days  was  that  he  was  a 
member  of  a  famous  coterie  of  choice  spirits  who  were  the 
life  of  every  race  track.  They  were  John  York,  William 
Gardner,  Sam'l  Hunter  and  Phil  Cox. 

Jeff  Wells  came  from  Louisiana,  and  had  a  vast  breeding 
establishment  near  Shreveport.  He  brought  to  the  world 
the  celebrated  Reel,  by  imp.  Glencoe,  out  of  imp.  Gallopade, 
by  Caton.  Reel  was  the  best  race  mare  at  all  distances  in 
America  at  the  time.  She  was  one  of  the  best  producers 
also  and  gave  to  the  turf  Uncle  Jeff,  Le  Compte,  Prioress 
and  Ann  Dunn.  Prioress  went  to  the  British  Isles  and  was 
said  to  be  the  best  race  mare  in  the  world  by  Admiral 
Rouse,  who  saw  her  lose  by  a  head  to  Lifeboat  in  the  Czar- 
witch,  but  made  a  dead  heat  in  the  same  race  for  second 
place  with  El  Akim.  It  was  run  off  and  Prioress  was  suc- 
cessful. Mr.  Wells  was  a  wealthy  planter  and  took  a  deep 
interest  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  turf.  He  had  a  host 
of  friends  and  was  intense  in  his  loyalty  to  the  South  at  all 
stages  of  its  vicissitudes. 

Col.  Adam  L.  Bingaman  lived  at  Natchez,  Miss.,  and 
was  the  scholar  of  his  time  in  that  vicinity.  There  was 
probably  no  more  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  turf  than  he. 
He  had  a  large  breeding  establishment,  and  the  famous 
Lexington  was  trained  at  his  track  for  all  his  great  races. 
For  fifty  years  he  was  on  the  turf  and  his  stables  were  always 
filled  with  the  very  best  there  was  in  the  equine  world. 
Ben  Pryor  was  Bingaman's  trainer. 

Col.  William  J.  Minor  was  known  everywhere  as  "the 
scholar  of  the  turf,"  and  lived  at  Natchez,  Miss.  He  owned 
Bnttania,  by  Muley,  the  sire  of  Margrave  and  Leviathan. 
Muley    Molok   was   a   full  brother  of  Brittania.     She  was 


133 

raced  successfully  in  this  country  and  was  of  great  fame  when 
she  went  to  the  stud,  producing  Verifier,  Voucher,  Varona, 
La  Variation  and  Van  Dyke.  There  was  probably  no  more 
extensive  planter  in  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley,  and  lie 
was  held  in  high  esteem  by  every  one.  When  he  went  to 
England  to  purchase  Brittania  he  was  entertained  by  many 
of  the  celebrated  nobles  of  the  day  and  was  held  in  equally 
high  esteem  by  the  Britons. 

Major  Le  Compte  was  probably  the  greatest  French 
turfman  of  his  time,  and  until  the  Lorillards  came  he  was 
an  extensive  planter  of  Louisiana  and  had  a  breeding  estab- 
lishment at  Shreveport.  As  a  turfman  of  the  first  class  of 
his  day  he  was  held  in  great  respect  everywhere.  Such 
horses  as  Gallatin,  Bob  Snell,  or  the  Dutchman,  Telee, 
and  Miss  Riddlesworth  were  in  his  string  and  they  were  all 
recognized  as  celebrities  of  their  time.  Ad  Small,  who  was  Le 
Compte's  trainer,  was  noted  all  over  the  South  for  his  ability. 
He  died  at  Saratoga,  and  I  was  one  of  the  pall  bearers  at 
the  funeral. 

Once  Le  Compte  said  to  me  of  Colonel  Minor's  Veri- 
fier: "Mr.  Davis,  he  can  run  as  fast  as  the  telegraph  and 
stand  driving  like  a  wedge."  He  said  it  in  broken  French, 
but  I  do  not  feel  equal  to  giving  it  just  as  he  said  it. 

Duncan  F.  Kenner,  of  Louisiana,  was  known  as  "  the 
old  Red  Fox  of  the  South."  He  always  represented  the 
South  in  all  her  turf  matters,  attending  the  conventions  of 
the  North  and  South,  and  always  got  the  lion's  share  of  the 
privileges.  He  was  a  man  of  great  executive  ability,  and 
was  the  owner  of  Gray  Medoc,  Dart,  Humming  Bird, 
Whale,  who  was  never  beaten;  Dolphin,  Florian,  full  brother 
to  Doubloon;  Louis  d'Or,  Ha'penny,  Roupee  and  hundreds 
of  others  too  numerous  to  mention.  Mr.  Kenner  was  a 
noted  planter  and  a  leading  man  of  his  day.  Before  his 
death  he  became  the  manager  of  all  the  canal  interests 
about  New  Orleans  and  was  a  man  of  vast  enterprise. 
Kenner  was  sent  to  England  to  represent  the  interests  of  the 
Confederacy  during  the  Civil  War  and  did  so  with  marked 
ability. 

Thomas  Patterson  was  from  Tennessee  and  rubbed 
Misfoot,  a  celebrated  mare,  the  best  of  her  day  in  America, 
when  he  was  but  a  boy.     Then  he  became  a  trainer  and  had 


J  34 

some  wonderful  horses  in  his  care.  He  was  certainly  a 
great  horseman,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  became  dis- 
tinguished on  the  turf.  No  man  surpassed  him  in  the  art 
of  feeding  and  galloping  horses.  His  fame  was  widespread. 
Munck  Fowler  was  a  noted  jockey  from  Tennessee. 
He  rode  many  great  horses  and  won  many  good  races. 
He  afterward  became  a  trainer. 

William  Cheatham  was  from  Nashville  and  was  noted 
as  a  gambler  and  a  turfman.  He  owned  some  good  horses, 
but  died  early  in  life.  With  all  his  wonderful  luck  it  is 
said  he  died  poor. 

Gen.  W.  C.  Harding  was  from  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and 
owned  the  Hermitage  breeding  establishment.  He  was  a 
representative  turfman  of  his  day,  and  bred,  owned  and 
sold  some  of  the  grand  horses  of  the  time.  He  was  a  man 
of  refinement  and  was  the  soul  of  honor  on  all  occasions. 

Judge  Barry  lived  at  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  and  was  a  turf- 
man of  some  note.  He  owned  the  great  mare  Parasina, 
Rosa  Clack  and  many  other  good  ones.  He  was  a  brother- 
in-law  of  General  Jackson  (Old  Hickory),  and  no  man  knew 
more  of  the  pedigrees  of  early  days  than  he.  Colonel 
Bruce  dedicated  his  famous  stud  book  to  Judge  Barry  and 
held  him  in  high  esteem.  Ran  Barry,  his  son,  owned 
Blacklock  and  was  clerk  of  the  court  at  Gallatin  for  many 
years. 

Bailey  Payton  was  also  a  brother-in-law  of  Gen.  An- 
drew Jackson  and  owned  several  great  horses,  but  he 
devoted  more  attention  to  politics.  He  was  a  most  lovable 
man  and  stood  as  high  as  any  man  in  the  State  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people. 

Colonel  Elliot,  also  from  Gallatin,  was  a  noted  turfman, 
who  owned  a  number  of  celebrated  horses,  and  was  a  pro- 
moter of  the  interests  of  the  turf  at  all  times. 

Berry  Williams,  from  Sumner  County,  Tenn.,  was  a 
breeder  widely  known.     He  was  popular  and  successful. 

Captain  Franklin,  also  from  Gallatin,  bred  and  reared 
many  good  horses. 

Thomas  and  James  Kirkman,  from  Alabama,  were  men 
of  almost  fabulous  wealth  in  the  early  days,  and  one  might 
travel  half  a  day  up  the  Alabama  River  without  ceasing  to 
pass  their  landed  possessions.     They  owned  miles  of  land. 


135 

The  celebrated  Peytona  was  in  their  stable.  She  beat  Fash- 
ion, the  ideal  mare  of  the  North,  for  $20,000  a  side.  They 
also  owned  Quadrille,  Jig,  Rory  O'Moore  and  Topaz.  On 
the  American  turf  of  their  day  they  were  among  the  fore- 
most men,  and  everybody  who  knew  them  held  them  in 
high  esteem.  Their  trainer  was  Isaac  Van  Lear,  a  very 
able  man, 

Vince  Hunter,  of  Alabama,  owned  Red  Eagle  and  a 
number  of  other  horses.  He  was  a  polished  gentleman 
and  came  from  a  most  distinguished  family. 

"  Red ''  Tom  Watson,  of  Virginia,  stood  high  on  the 
turf  and  was  noted  for  his  sagacity  in  making  matches. 
He  owned  vast  tracts  of  land  and  was  popular. 

"Red"  Tom  Watson,  of  Tennessee,  was  frequently 
designated  as  "  the  man  of  cunning."  Some  people  called 
him  "■  the  early  bird,"  because  he  was  always  up  early  in 
the  morning  watching  the  performances  of  other  men's 
horses.  His  methods  were  most  peculiar,  but  nothing 
unfair  was  especially  found  against  him,  and  he  was  noted 
for  his  shrewdness. 

Ottaway  P.  Hare  came  from  Petersburg,  Va.,  and  was 
a  distinguished  turfman.  He  had  one  of  the  clearest  heads 
and  the  best  judgment  of  any  man  on  the  turf.  When  he 
saw  two  horses  running  at  the  same  meeting  he  could 
always  lay  his  money  accurately  on  the  winner.  He  fig- 
ured it  out  by  careful  observation.  Hare  owned  Andrew- 
etta,  who  beat  Boston  a  heat  at  Broad  Rock,  together  with 
many  other  distinguished  horses.  Bostona  was  in  his  string 
and  added  materially  to  his  winnings.  The  people  called 
him  "  the  old  rabbit,"  because  he  could  take  care  of  himself 
against  any  kind  of  talent.  I  regarded  him  as  one  of  the 
finest  men  with  whom  I  had  ever  come  in  contact. 

John  Minor  Botts  was  a  statesman  and  turfman  of  Vir- 
ginia and  was  held  in  high  esteem.  He  was  the  breeder 
of  Financier,  Revenue  and  Two  Bits.  He  often  acted  as 
judge  at  the  races  and  gave  general  satisfaction. 

W.  R.  Travers,  of  New  York,  was  one  of  the  most  pop- 
ular men  I  ever  knew,  and  he  numbered  his  friends  by  the 
score  in  both  the  South  and  West.  No  gentleman  from 
either  section  could  land  in  New  York  that  he  did  not  try 
to  locate  him  and  make  him  his  guest.     As  a  wit  he  was 


T36 

widely  known.  One  little  incident  is  told  of  him  that  comes 
to  my  mind  in  this  connection.  It  is  said  that  a  friend  met 
him  in  New  York  and  said : 

"  Mr.  Travers,  why  is  it  that  you  stutter  so  much  more 
here  in  New  York  than  you  did  in  Lexington,  Ky.  ?  " 

"  Bi-g-g--e-rt-t-to-w-n, "  stammered  Bill,  as  he  was  fa- 
miliarly known. 

He  formerly  owned  some  fine  horses  with  John  Hunter, 
of  Hunter's  Point,  and  gave  a  bonus  to  the  great  Travers 
Stakes  at  Saratoga. 

Gov.  Odin  Bowie,  of  Maryland,  owned  Catesby,  Abdul 
Kadir,  Viley,  Australine  and  My  Maryland.  He  was  a  man 
of  universal  popularity  and  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
State  two  terms. 

Frank  Hall,  of  Maryland,  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  the 
horse  and  turf  and  bred  many  celebrated  horses.  His 
father  was  a  turfman  and  he  came  of  a  noted  race  of  turf- 
men, all  of  whom  were  noted  for  their  sagacity  in  the  train- 
ing and  handling  of  horses. 

Wyndham  Walden  was  a  celebrity  of  Maryland  as  a 
trainer  and  became  noted  as  a  breeder.  He  was  a  son  of 
George  Walden,  whose  brother  John  rode  Eclipse  the  first 
heat  in  the  famous  race  with  Henry.  The  horses  he  trained 
won  in  stakes  and  purses  more  than  e$  1,000,000.  He  also 
owned  Bowling  Brook  farm,  in  Maryland.  ** 

George  Lorillard  was  one  of  the  most  popular  owners 
in  the  State  of  New  York.  Everybody  loved  him  in  the 
South  and  West.  He  was  a  big-hearted  gentleman.  He 
owned  Sensation,  Ferida,  Aella  and  quite  a  number  of  others 
equally  distinguished.  Sensation  was  correctly  named,  for 
he  never  was  beaten.  His  brother  Pierre  was  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  and  active  turfmen  of  any  age  of  the 
American  turf.  Lord  Beresford  was  his  partner  in  England, 
and  no  man  who  ever  went  to  England  was  so  popular  with 
the  British.  It  was  he  who  took  the  great  Parole,  Iroquois 
and  others  to  the  land  on  w^hich  the  sun  is  never  said  to  set. 
They  won  all  the  great  stakes  and  Iroquois  won  the  St. 
Leger  and  Derby.  Parole  distinguished  himself  by  winning 
the  Metropolitan  Handicap,  beating  Isonomy  and  other 
noted  horses. 


T37 

Coming  to  Kentucky,  the  country  that  has  endeared 
itself  to  all  turfmen  the  world  over,  I  think  I  ought  to  say 
something  of  Henry  Clay,  who  owned  Yorkshire,  the  son 
of  Nicholas,  who  was  presented  to  him  by  Commodore 
Stockton  as  a  mark  of  respect.  While  Henry  Clay  could 
not  be  consistently  termed  a  turfman,  through  his  son,  John 
M.  Clay,  he  has  a  claim  to  distinction  on  the  turf,  for  it  was 
he  who  induced  the  boy  to  go  into  the  business  of  breeding. 
Once  when  the  get  of  Yorkshire  were  being  shown  the 
great  Commoner  in  the  presence  of  the  writer,  who  was  the 
rider  at  the  time,  Mr.  Clay  said : 

"  Gentlemen,  with  this  great  promise  of  the  equine 
family  before  you,  there  is  every  chance  of  success.  If  you 
will  take  into  consideration  that  your  enterprise  is  greater 
than  your  bank  accounts,  and  never  underrate  your  enemy, 
you  are  bound  to  succeed." 

On  the  day  following,  Mr.  Clay  was  about  to  start  for 
the  United  States  Senate  and  we  were  showing  him  the  first 
of  the  get  of  the  horse.  He  was,  of  course,  interested  and 
he  desired  to  give  us  a  parting  word  of  advice. 

John  M.  Clay  made  his  debut  on  the  turf  in  1847,  ^^^ 
raced  such  great  horses  as  Kentucky,  Daniel  Boone,  Gilroy, 
Princeton,  Magic,  Coon  the  Bloody,  Zampa.  Maria  Woods, 
Charley  Woods,  Star  Davis,  Skedaddle,  Sly  Boots,  Buff 
and  Blue  and  Victory.  He  was  the  genius  of  the  Clay 
family,  but  he  had  no  desire  to  distinghish  himself.  He 
died  owning  one  of  the  best  breeding  establishments  in  the 
country. 

Dr.  Edward  Warfield  lived  at  The  Meadows,  north  of 
the  Association  Course  in  Lexington.  He  bred  many  high 
class  horses,  including  Lexington,  the  blind  hero  ;  Waxey, 
Alice  Carneal,  Berthune,  Buford  and  many  others.  He  was 
a  man  of  wealth  and  all  who  knew  him  loved  and  respected 
him.  There  was  never  a  better  hearted  or  nobler  man  on 
the  face  of  the  earth  than  Dr.  Warfield,  and  I  feel  that  I  can- 
not say  too  much  concerning  him. 

James  Shy,  of  "  Shy-won-a-heat  fame,"  was  born  in 
Central  Kentucky  and  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  He  owned 
many  fast  horses  and  won  some  money.  Among  his  horses 
were  Lady  Jackson,  who  was  by  Sumpter;  Theatrice,  who 
ran  head  and  head  with  Jim  Bell  for  seven-eighths  of  a  mile 


138 

in  1:46,  the  fastest  time  then  made  in  Kentucky;  Robison, 
May  Day,  Slim  Cassar  and  Dallas.  At  the  close  of  his 
career  be  became  totally  blind.  For  the  last  ten  years  of 
his  life  he  always  had  a  seat  in  the  judges'  stand  as  a  compli- 
ment to  the  veteran  turfman.  Of  course,  he  could  not  see 
and  did  not  see  what  was  going  on;  but  he  took  a  decided 
interest  in  everything  pertaining  to  the  turf,  and  everbody 
tried  to  do  something  that  would  assist  in  making  him  happy 
in  a  way. 

Major  B.  G.  Thomas  was  one  of  the  lights  of  Lexing- 
ton and  one  of  the  best  informed  and  best  liked  men  in  all 
the  great  State  of  Kentucky.  There  are  few  people  who 
have  been  more  universally  known.  His  first  horse  was 
Monsieur  Bertrand,  and  his  next  Wandering  Willie,  trained 
by  his  servant,  a  negro  named  Mose,  who  used  to  ride  Bob 
Bruce  and  Roberson.  Lady  Taylor  fell  to  him  in  the  course 
of  a  sale,  and  she  proved  a  wonderfully  fast  mare,  although 
she  was  unfortunate.     She  produced  Derby,  by  imp.  Eclipse. 

After  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  Major  Thomas  became 
engaged  in  racing  and  breeding,  producing  Hataf,  Herzog, 
Highflight,  Hira,  Hinyar,  Domino  the  invincible,  and  many 
others  of  high  class.  With  his  brother  Charlie  he  was  re- 
ferred to  as  one  of  the  graces  of  Kentucky.  No  one  worthy 
asked  him  for  a  favor  and  failed  to  receive  it. 

James  A.  Grinstead  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  lived  at 
Lexington,  where  he  lived  all  his  life,  dying  there  ten  or 
twelve  years  ago.  He  was  one  of  the  finest  gentlemen 
of  all  that  grand  section.  About  1848  he  began  racing,  and 
his  first  horse  was  Doubloon,  with  whom  he  won  many 
stakes.  Florian,  Louis  d'Or,  Ducatoon,  Dime,  Lindora,  a 
full  brother  to  the  latter  ;  Sherrod,  Moidore  and  others. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Grinstead  became  engaged  in  turf 
matters  he  was  clerk  of  the  county  court.  He  made  money 
rapidly  and  became  a  banker.  At  this  he  also  succeeded, 
and  was  at  one  time  a  man  of  great  wealth,  having  mort- 
gages on  many  of  the  farms  about  Lexington.  After  the 
war  he  began  to  lose  money  and  died  with  very  little  prop- 
erty. 

A.  Keene  Richards  came  from  Kentucky,  having  been 
born  at  Georgetown  and  was  educated  at  the  University  of 
Virginia.     He  owned  several  great  Arabian  sires,  which  he 


139 

imported  direct  from  their  native  deserts.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  wealth,  having  inherited  his  father's  money. 
Among  the  horses  he  owned  was  Mock  Ladder,  Fysall  and 
others.  He  was  a  man  of  bold  enterprise,  and  bred  Co- 
lossus, Glicera,  Black  Rebel,  and  raced  Betty  Ward,  together 
with  a  large  number  of  others. 

Benjamin  Keene  was  a  doctor  at  Georgetown,  Ky.,  and 
owned  Dazzle,  Kate  Ward  and  others.  He  was  a  leading 
man  of  his  day  and  was  very  popular. 

Warren  Viley  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  owned 
Hamburg,  Gapitola,  the  dam  of  King  Alfonso  ;  Mary 
Churchill,  Nannie  B.  and  others.  John  R.  Viley,  his 
brother,  bred  and  owned  Goodwood,  Myrtle,  Glendower, 
Viley,  Australine  and  Altevela.  Mr.  Viley  was  a  very 
popular  gentleman  and  a  successful  business  man.  He  was 
as  consistent  and  true  a  friend  as  ever  lived,  and  every  one 
in  speaking  of  him  at  the  present  time  has  a  kind  word  to  say. 
Junius  R.  Ward  came  from  Scott  County,  Ky.,  and  was 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  time.  He  owned  Sallie 
Hardin,  John  O'Gaunt.  Alex.  Churchill,  Lexington,  and  was 
one  of  the  biggest  planters  in  the  South.  He  stood  high  in 
all  sections  of  the  country  socially. 

Gen.  Abe  Buford  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  made  his 
home  in  Woodford  County,  near  Versailles.  As  a  breeder 
and  turfman  it  is  enough  to  say  that  he  bred  and  owned 
Enquirer,  but  he  had  many  other  very  distinguished  horses. 
He  lived  at  Bosque  Bonita.  W.  S.  Buford,  his  father, 
bred  thousands  of  distinguished  horses  and  sent  them  all 
over  the  western  world. 

Ned  Blackburn  was  known  as  "  Uncle  Ned."  He 
lived  at  or  near  Midway  and  owned  Blackburn's  Whip. 
He  stood  the  celebrated  Boston  and  got  many  of  the  most 
noted  horses  up  to  to-day.  He  also  stood  many  other 
splendid  sires,  including  Grey  Eagle. 

Robert  Alexander  was  also  from  Kentucky  and  was 
sometimes  called  "  Lord "  Alexander,  on  account  of  his 
almost  fabulous  wealth.  He  was  a  quite,  reserved  gentle- 
man and  made  no  pretensions.  Everybody  knew  and  liked 
him,  and  he  was  held  in  great  respect  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  had  a  large  breeding  establishment  and  bred  exten- 
sively.    Every   year    he    sold    a    great    many    yearlings. 


140 

Among  the  horses  he  owned  was  Lexington,  for  whom  he 
gave  $15,000. 

At  that  time  Lexingon  was  blind,  but  Alexander  de- 
clared at  the  time  that  he  would  sell  one  of  Lexington's  colts 
for  more  than  he  paid  for  the  sire,  Norfolk  was  foaled  and 
he  sold  him  for  $15,001,  insisting  upon  having  the  extra  one 
dollar  in  order  to  make  his  boast  good.  Asteroid,  Joe 
Daniels,  Harry  Bassett,  Bay  Dick,  Bay  Flower,  Bayonet 
and  Voxholl  were  also  in  his  string.  He  was  probably  one 
of  the  greatest  beneficiaries  of  the  American  turf  that  the 
world  ever  knew. 

James  K.  Duke  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  lived  there 
all  his  life.  He  was  the  ancestor  of  the  great  Duke  family 
of  the  present  time.  He  was  a  distinguished  breeder  and 
turfman  and  was  highly  educated.  In  every  respect  he 
was  a  gentleman,  and  acted  as  judge  in  many  of  the  great 
races  in  Kentucky.  He  owned  Cherry  Elliott,  Tangent, 
Minstrel,  Kite,  Bonnie  Laddie,  Bonnie  Lassie,  Kefh, 
Creighton,  Blonde,  Maroon  and  other  celebrities. 

Richard  Ten  Broeck  came  from  New  York,  but  his 
stock  interests  were  all  in  Kentucky.  He  was  the  first 
man  to  take  a  full  string  of  horses  to  England,  and  became 
one  of  the  best  known  breeders  and  owners  in  Kentucky. 
This  stable  consisted  of  Prioress,  Prior,  Satellite  and  others. 

Felix  G.  Murphy  was  born  at  Bardstown  and  was  fre- 
quentl}^  referred  to  as  "  the  Chesterfield  of  the  American 
turf,''  because  of  his  graceful  manners.  He  was  associated 
with  the  firm  of  Hunter,  Dooms  &  Murphy  in  his  stock 
interests  and  owned  many  good  horses.  Motto,  Fiat, 
Hunter's  Lexington,  Nannie  Lewis,  Sallie  Lewis,  Harper, 
Susan  Bean,  dam  of  Sensation,  and  others  were  in  their 
stable. 

Joseph  G.  Boswell  also  came  from  Kentucky  and  owned 
Ludy,  Ruffin,  Gray  Medoc,  Bon  Ton,  Gabriel,  Momentilla, 
Magenta,  Doubloon,  Florian,  Miss  Belle,  Ha'penny,  Mamona 
and  others.  He  was  one  of  the  most  successful  breeders 
with  the  same  number  of  mares  that  I  ever  knew. 

Robert  Holloway  is  an  ambitious  and  representati\^e 
turfman  of  Kentucky.  He  is  not  an  extensive  breeder,  but 
he  has  always  figured  on  the  turf  and  has  owned  some  high- 
class  horses.     He  is  an  unusually  quiet  gentleman,  and  few 


141 

people  ever  knew  that  he  owned  the  great  horses  he  was 
racing.  Always  a  broad-gauge  and  public  spirited  man,  he 
bought  any  horse  offered  for  sale  without  considering  the 
cost.  In  Lexington  now  there  is  no  man  whose  advice  is 
more  sought  after  and  who  stands  higher  among  the  peo- 
ple. Everybody  likes  him  and  he  likes  everybody,  I  want 
to  write  on  his  tombstone,  when  he  is  gathered  to  his  fath- 
ers and  his  gentle  soul  has  gone  to  its  rest  in  the  darkness 
of  eternity  :  "  Here  lies  a  man  who  was  beloved  by  all  who 
knew  him."     He  owned  many  good  horses. 

Milton  Young  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in 
all  Kentucky.  He  owned  the  great  Hanover  and  started 
out  with  Bootjack,  Bancroft  and  others,  and  won  nearly  all 
the  cups  across  the  western  country.  Troubadour  was  bred 
and  owned  by  Mr.  Young,  but  he  has  bred  hundreds  of 
others  that  have  acquired  fame  on  the  turf.  He  is  one  of 
the  fairest  and  squarest  breeders  whom  I  have  ever  known. 
I  am  proud  to  call  him  my  friend.  There  are  hundreds  of 
incidents  that  I  could  relate  concerning  his  liberality,  and 
when  the  Three  Graces  bow  before  him  in  the  land  beyond 
the  sky  Charity  will  take  off  her  crown  and  bow  politely 
to  the  prince  of  all  Kentuckians. 

John  E.  Madden  is  now  one  of  the  representative  turf- 
men of  Kentucky.  He  owns  the  famous  Hamburg  Place 
and  has  vast  interests.  It  is  said  of  Madden  that  he  came 
to  Lexington  with  scarcely  anything,  but  by  energy  and  en- 
terprise he  forged  to  the  front  and  has  owned  such  notables 
as  the  mighty  Hamburg  and  a  host  of  others.  Scarcely  a 
year  has  passed  recently  that  Madden  has  not  been  able  to 
bring  out  a  grand  horse  and  sell  him  for  a  good  price.  Mr. 
Madden  is  of  Irish  parentage,  although  he  came  from  Penn- 
sylvania, that  good  old  Dutch  State.  He  is  a  man  of  pow- 
erful physique,  gentle  in  his  manners  when  in  a  good  humor, 
but  a  lion  when  aroused.  Concerning  his  horses  he  is  as 
reticent  as  the  private  cemetery  of  a  deaf  and  dumb  asylum, 
and  he  is  said  to  give  all  his  horses  numbers,  so  that  even 
the  stable  boys  do  not  know  the  names  of  the  horses  they 
are  exercising.  But  withal,  Mr.  Madden  is  a  clever  fellow, 
whom  it  is  a  sincere  pleasure  to  meet. 

Price  McGrath,  known  as  the  Prince  of  McGrathiana, 
was  one  of  the  men  about  Lexington  who  should  not  be 


142 

omitted.  Everybody  in  the  Blue  Grass  capital  knew  and 
respected  him.  He  owned  the  famous  Aristides,  the  winner 
of  the  first  Kentucky  Derby ;  the  invincible  Tom  Bowline, 
Calvin,  Mary  Ann  and  other  noted  horses,  among  which 
was  Rhineodine  and  Endorser.  He  was  noted  for  his  wit 
and  for  the  barbecues  he  gave  every  year.  His  hospitality 
made  him  famous.  As  a  man  of  nerve  he  was  never  awed 
by  the  odds  on  his  horses  and  bet  his  money  without  fear. 

Capt.  Ben.  Hutchison,  of  Missouri,  was  originally  from 
Kentucky  and  was  noted  as  a  high-class  gentleman.  He 
owned  Laclede,  Derb}*,  Annie  Travis,  Ruth,  Lilac,  Evange- 
line, Glendower  and  others.  He  had  a  large  breeding  estab- 
lishment for  years  in  St.  Louis  County,  and  was  both  clever 
and  highly  respected. 

Joseph  D.  Lucas  lives  in  St.  Louis  County,  Mo.,  and  is 
quite  a  noted  breeder.  He  is  a  grand,  good  fellow  and  has 
his  annual  sales,  during  which  time  he  has  sold  many  fast 
ones.  He  has  had  remarkable  success,  and  his  colts  are 
known  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other. 

Barney  Schreiber  also  has  his  home  in  Missouri  and  is 
one  of  the  most  noted  breeders  in  all  the  great  State  of 
Missouri.  He  owns  many  high-bred  stallions,  including 
Sain  and  Bannockburn,  whose  get  are  astonishing  the 
country  at  the  present  time  by  their  wonderful  speed.  Sain 
is  one  of  the  most  grandly  bred  horses  in  all  the  world.  Mr. 
Schreiber  is  a  clever,  honorable  gentleman  and  has  the  re- 
spect of  all  who  know  him.  He  is  not  afraid  to  bet  his 
money  and  is  a  progressive  gentleman,  whom  everybody 
likes. 

James  Patton  was  also  from  Missouri  and  bred  many 
fine  horses.  The  most  celebrated  of  the  horses  that  he  bred 
was  Ethel  Gray.  Mr.  Patton  was  very  popular  with  all 
who  had  the  honor  of  his  acquaintance. 

Dr.  McAlester  owns  a  breeding  establishmeet  at  Co- 
lumbia, Mo.,  and  is  a  noted  breeder.  He  has  several  very 
fine  stallions  at  his  place,  and  they  are  every  year  distin- 
guishing themselves  on  the  turf.  He  is  a  splendid  gentle- 
man, and  has  a  host  of  friends  who  respect  him  for  his 
learning  and  his  kind  and  gentle  manners. 

James  R.  and  Foxhall  Keene,  from  New  York,  are 
father  and  son.   Their  fame  as  breeders  and  owners  is  wide- 


143 

spread.  They  owned  Domino,  Commando  and  several  other 
stallions,  together  with  some  noted  mares,  among  them  Cap 
and  Bells,  the  only  American  filly  that  ever  won  the  Eng- 
lish Oaks.  Their  breeding  establishment  in  Kentucky  is 
one  of  the  most  replete  with  modern  conveniences  in  the 
world.  Among  the  celebrated  turfmen  of  to-day  there  are 
no  men  who  stand  higher.  They  are  respected  for  their 
probity  and  enterprise. 

William  C.  Whitney  was  from  New  York,  but  had  vast 
breeding  interests  in  the  heart  of  the  Blue  Grass  section  of 
Kentucky.  There  was  no  man  of  modern  times  who  went 
into  racing  on  such  a  colossal  scale.  It  was  his  ambition  to 
gather  together,  not  merely  the  greatest  racing  stable,  but 
the  best  stud  in  all  the  world.  In  both  he  succeeded,  but 
unfortunately  death  came  to  him  just  as  prospects  for  the 
realization  of  his  greatest  hopes  were  brightest. 

Gen.  William  H.  Jackson,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
breeders  on  the  American  turf  to-day,  owned  the  famous  Bell 
Meade,  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  where  he  yearly  turned  out  many 
of  the  great  horses  that  are  to  be  seen  on  the  turf.  He  made 
Belle  Meade  one  of  most  beautiful  places  in  the  world. 

The  late  Theodore  Winter's  greatest  claim  to  distinc- 
tion as  breeder  was  by  being  the  owner  of  so  good  a  brood 
mare  as  Marion,  who  threw  nothing  but  good  ones  from 
any  horse  they  bred  her  to  every  crack.  She  produced 
several  of  the  best  horses  ever  raised  West  of  the  Ohio 
river  and  most  of  them  were  by  a  second  Lexington  horse 
at  that.  She  was  one  of  the  best  of  brood  mares,  though 
rather  lowly  bred. 

Lucky  Baldwin  has  made  quite  a  success  in  breeding 
of  thoroughbreds.  He  has  won  several  Derbies  with  horses 
of  his  own  breeding;  for  instance,  Silver  Cloud  and  Volun- 
tary both  won  the  American  Derby.  Rael  Santinita,  Gano 
and  others,  all  good  winners,  are  to  his  credit  and  all  were 
bred  and  reared  by  him  at  his  ranch  near  Los  Angeles, 
California. 

Mr.  James  C.  Hagin  is  of  world  wide  renown  for  hav- 
ing the  largest  breeding  plant  of  thoroughbreds  of  any  man 
in  the  world  to  date  and  is  equally  famous  for  the  great 
number  of  very  high  class  horses  he  has  bred,  reared  and 
sold  and  dispersed  to  every  part  of  the  land  through  the 
medium  of  his  annual  sales. 


144 

Col.  Saunders  D.  Bruce,  of  New  York,  was  born  in 
Kentucky  and  was  one  of  the  best  informed  men  on  the 
turf.  He  owned  several  good  horses  and  attached  himself 
vitally  to  the  interests  of  the  American  turf  by  the  publica- 
tion of  his  famous  stud  book,  now  owned  and  continued  by 
the  Jockey  Club.  He  was  descended  from  one  of  the  purest 
lines  of  Scots,  tracing-  back  to  Robert  Bruce.  A  congenial 
spirit  at  all  times,  clever  to  almost  a  fault,  highly  educated 
and  refined,  his  company  always  was  much  sought  after.  I 
regarded  him  as  one  of  the  most  estimable  gentlemen  I 
ever  met.  Born  on  the  same  street  where  he  was  born 
and  at  about  the  same  time,  I  had  an  excellent  opportunity 
to  judge  his  character.  We  played  and  romped  together 
as  boys,  and  1  hope  when  I  am  called  away  we  may  be 
reunited  and  sit  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  river  and 
talk  over  old  times  far  into  the  depths  of  eternity. 

Julius  Fleischmann,  of  Cincinnati,  bade  fair  at  one  time 
to  become  one  of  the  celebrities  of  the  turf.  He  is  a  man 
of  wealth  and  once  owned  the  famous  Halma,  afterward 
purchased  by  W.  K.  Vanderbilt  and  placed  at  the  head  of 
his  stud  in  France,  and  now  one  of  the  distinguished  horses 
doing  public  duty  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  Messrs.  Churchill,  of  Churchill  Downs,  Louisville, 
fame,  John  and  Henry,  left  behind  them  a  name  that  will 
never  be  forgotten  not  only  in  the  dark  and  bloody  ground 
but  all  over  the  United  States.  They  owned  some  of  the 
finest  horses  that  ever  placed  their  feet  on  the  bronzed 
circle  of  a  race  track.  Among  them  might  be  mentioned 
Sir  Joseph  Hawley,  Belle  of  the  Highlands,  Little  Rufifin, 
Ben  d'Or,  Loftin,  Powhattan,  Adrain  and  Miss  Bowler. 
They  were  gentlemen  of  the  old  school  and  stood  in  the 
highest  rank.  Both  were  men  of  refinement  and  had  the 
confidence  of  all  who  knew  them  at  all  times  in  all  mat- 
ters in  which  they  were  in  any  way  connected.  They  are 
descended  from  Gen.  George  Rogers  Clark,  the  famous 
Indian  fighter,  and  the  family  is  one  of  the  best  there  is  in 
the  United  States. 

Col.  M.  Lewis  Clark  was  probably  one  of  the  finest  gen- 
tlemen connected  in  any  way  with  the  American  turf.  Al- 
ways the  superb  Beau  Brummel  of  his  time,  he  was  grace- 
ful in  his  manners,  dressed  in  the  latest  style,  he  had  a  host 


145 

of  admirers,  and  there  was  no  race  course  but  was  glad  to 
secure  his  service  as  presiding  judge.  For  years  he  offici- 
ated at  Churchill  Downs,  at  Louisville,  and  his  decisions 
invariably  gave  satisfaction  to  all  concerned.  He  was  highly 
educated  and  could  converse  entertainingly  on  all  subjects. 
Col.  James  J.  O'Fallon,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  was  born  in  that 
city  and  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  there.  He  is  a 
scholar  of  the  old  school,  whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  know. 
Col.  John  O'Fallon,  the  founder  of  the  great  O'Fallon  fam- 
ily in  the  West,  was  his  father,  and  a  man  who  was  of  un- 
bounded popularity.  Col.  James  O'Fallon  was  a  valuable 
acquisition  to  the  American  turf,  and  while  his  racing  career 
was  not  a  lengthly  one  it  was  brilliant  to  a  marked  extent, 
for  he  won  the  most  of  the  great  stakes  for  which  he  con- 
tended. He  owned  Pat  Maloy,  Plantaganet,  Altevela,  Sun- 
down, The  Banshee,  Harry  O'Fallon  (named  for  his  son), 
Kate  Ward  and  others.  In  his  manners  he  is  as  gentle  as  a 
lady,  and  refinement  characterizes  his  every  action.  A 
friend  he  never  forgets  and  his  purse  is  always  open  to  his 
friends  or  any  one  in  need.  I  cannot  pay  a  high-toned^  emi- 
nent Missourian  a  higher  compliment. 

Hiram  and  Horace  Argo  are  two  Tennesseeans,  who 
have  achieved  distinction  on  the  turf  and  in  business  and 
turf  and  political  life.  They  owned  White  Nose,  a  horse 
of  royal  breeding,  who  raced  and  won  hundreds  of  races. 
Finally  he  died  as  a  buggy  horse  in  Nashville,  but  his  last 
days  were  spent  in  the  quietude  which  he  had  so  richly 
earned. 

Bryan  Obear,  of  Missouri,  is  one  of  the  turfmen  of  St. 
Louis  whom  every  one  feels  better  to  meet  and  know.  He 
was  the  importer  of  George  Frederick,  and  Bondholder  and 
Patroclus  were  among  his  latest  holdings.  Some  of  his 
mares  were  the  best  bred  of  their  day.  Silverdale  was  once 
his  property  and  afterward  climed  to  distinction  as  the 
property  of  the  famous  John  H.  Schorr,  of  Memphis.  Mr. 
Obear  is  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  able 
to  speak  of  him  as  I  do,  for  there  is  not  a  truer  friend  or  a 
man  more  worthy  of  respect  in  all  this  broad  land. 

John  H.  Schorr  is  from  Memphis,  Tenn.,  where  he  has 
vast  brewing  interests.  But  his  chief  belongings  at  the 
present  time  and  the  ones  that  are  liable  to  bring  him  the 


146 

most  lasting  fame  are  his  horses.  With  them  he  has  won  the 
Memphis  Derby,  a  classic  event  of  the  early  spring,  several 
times,  and  has  landed  many  of  the  richest  stakes  and  purses 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  His  son,  John  H. 
Schorr,  Jr.,  is  associated  with  him  his  racing  interests  and  to- 
gether they  have  one  of  the  most  formidable  strings  in 
America,  Among  the  great  horses  Mr.  Schorr  has  owned 
might  be  mentioned  Lieber  Karl,  Silverdale,  Sea  Lion  and 
Endurance  By  Right. 

George  Bennett  is  also  of  Memphis  and  is  a  most  esti- 
mable gentleman.  He  is  one  of  the  most  advanced  turfmen 
of  the  day  and  always  has  a  string  of  the  best  quality.  His 
stable  has  met  the  most  amazing  success,  winning  many  of 
the  largest  stakes  all  over  the  country  He  is  a  bold  oper- 
ator both  as  a  bookmaker  and  an  owner.  Among  the  horses 
he  has  owned  are  Farmer  Bennett,  Miss  Bennett  and  Dis- 
habille, the  latter  unquestionably  the  best  mare  of  1906,  and 
a  host  of  others.  He  is  yearly  bringing  to  the  turf  horses 
that  are  hard  to  beat,  and  all  jockey  clubs  East  and  West  are 
always  glad  to  know  that  George  Bennett  is  going  to 
race  his  horses  there. 

William  McGuigan,  of  Arkansas,  is  known  as  "  Um- 
brella Bill,"  because  he  always  carries  a  large  umbrella  with 
him,  whether  it  is  raining  or  shining.  He  has  trained  and 
put  in  selling  shape  more  horses  m  the  early  spring  time  than 
any  other  man  living.  His  idea  is  to  sell  his  horses  as  quickly 
as  possible  and  then  look  out  for  other  phenomenons.  Ben 
Eder,  Lady  Inez,  Bannockburn  and  a  great  many  other  celeb- 
rities might  be  mentioned. 

Sam  Bryant  was  known  from  one  end  of  Kentucky  to  the 
other  as  a  clever  gentleman  whom  everbody  liked.  He 
owned  the  famous  Proctor  Knott,  Uncle  Bob  and  a  great 
many  who  became  noted  on  the  turf.  Col.  Bryant  was  a 
resident  of  Louisville  and  had  a  charming  little  place  oppo- 
site Churchill  Downs  there.  A  real  turfman  never  went  to 
Louisville  without  seeing  Col.  Bryant,  for  he  was  one  of  the 
most  entertaining  gentlemen  to  be  found  anywhere. 

John  C.  Kelly  was  noted  as  a  rider  and  trainer  as  well 
as  an  owner.  He  lived  and  died  in  St.  Louis  and  numbered 
his  friends  by  the  score  wherever  he  was  known.  As  a  rider 
he  bestrode  the  celebrated  Reel  in  many  of  her  great  races. 


147 

He  owned  Monsoon,  Legal  Tender,  Knight  of   St.   Louis, 
Greenback  and  others. 

Charles  C.  Maffitt  stood  as  high  as  any  turfman  through- 
out the  country,  and  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  he  was  the  idol  of  the 
people  of  all  classes.  Everybody  had  a  kind  word  to  say 
for  him  and  he  had  a  kind  word  to  say  for  everybody. 
There  was  not  a  single  evil  trait  in  the  make-up  of  this  gen- 
tleman. Nature  fairly  exhausted  her  resources  when  she 
constructed  such  a  man.  He  was  gentle,  loving,  thought- 
ful of  the  comfort  of  others  to  a  marked  degree,  generous 
to  almost  a  fault,  and  possessed  of  all  the  characteristics 
that  go  to  make  up  a  perfect  gentleman. 

As  an  entertainer  he  had  few  equals  in  the  city  of  St. 
Louis,  and  certainly  no  superiors.  His  little  levees  at  the 
Fair  Grounds  were  the  delight  of  his  friends  and  they  loved 
to  gather  round  the  festal  board  where  he  presided.  What 
he  did  was  done  in  a  most  regal  way.  In  the  beginning  Mr. 
Maffitt  had  no  desire  to  become  a  turfman,  but  his  friend  Lu- 
cas Turner,  who  was  a  breeder,  had  arranged  to  hold  a  sale 
of  horses,  and  Mr.  Maffitt  bought  a  few  in  order  to  start  the 
sale. 

There  was  no  man  who  thought  more  of  his  friends  than 
did  Mr.  Maffitt,  and  when  he  became  the  possessor  of  a  string 
of  horses  he  named  the  animals  after  them.  One  he  called 
Lucille  Manette,  after  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Pierre  Chouteau; 
another  Sir  RoUa,  after  Mr.  Rolla  Wells,  the  present  Mayor 
of  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  who  was  for  years  president  of  the 
Fair  Grounds  Association.  It  was  always  the  desire  of  Mr. 
Maffitt,  after  he  became  identified  with  the  turf,  to  possess 
one  of  the  foremost  rank,  and  he  would  probably  have  suc- 
ceeded had  not  the  icy  hand  of  the  sable  messenger  of  death 
been  laid  upon  him,  and  thus  cut  short  a  promising  career. 

A  pretty  little  incident  in  connection  with  this  string  of 
horses  is  that  after  old  age  set  its  seal  on  fleet-footed  Lucille 
Manette  Mr.  Pierre  Chouteau  built  a  stable  for  her  and  keeps 
her  in  quiet  and  comfort  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory 
of  his  lamented  cousin.  This  is  only  given  as  an  illustration 
of  the  sincere  affection  these  two  gentlemen  had  for  each 
other.  But  all  who  knew  Charles  Maffitt  loved  him,  and 
there  was  many  a  tear  shed  when  he  breathed  his  last. 


148 

I  ought  not  to  forget  the  McGibben  Bros.,  of  Cynthiana, 
Harrison  County,  Ky.,  Thomas  and  James.  Their  names 
are  a  power  in  Kentucky,  and  some  of  the  finest  horses  on 
the  turf  have  stood  in  their  stable.  Among  them  was  Spring- 
bok, by  Australian,  out  of  Hester,  who  ran  a  dead  heat  with 
Preakness  at  Saratoga  and  made  himself  famous.  It  was 
probably  the  greatest  cup  race  ever  run  in  the  world.  Their 
breeding  establishment  is  a  splendid  one  and  many  splendid 
horses  first  saw  the  light  there.  Thomas  McGibben  has 
gone  to  his  reward  in  the  land  beyond  the  skies,  but  Mr. 
James  McGibben  is  alive  and  respected  by  all  who  know 
him. 

William  Barnes  is  a  prominent  breeder  of  Bourbon 
County,  Ky.  He  has  a  large  establishment  at  the  present 
time  and  is  a  turfman  of  great  popularity.  Especially  has 
he  always  been  the  favorite  of  the  celebrated  firm  of  Clay  & 
Woodford,  and  once  they  named  a  horse  for  him.  The 
animal  was  speedy  and  was  sold  to  Dwyer  Brothers  for  a 
large  sum. 

William  Mulkey,  of  Kansas  City,  is  a  gentleman  of  the 
old  school,  and  was  associated  with  the  firm  of  Mulkey  & 
Avis.  They  have  a  large  breeding  establishment  and  have 
been  very  successful  on  the  turf.  They  have  interests  all 
over  the  country,  and  race  from  one  ocean  to  the  other  and 
from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Gulf.  No  men  stand  higher 
for  honorable,  fair  methods  than  do  Mulkey  &  Avis.  But  I 
must  not  forget  Oliver  Louis,  "  the  sable  son  of  Ham,''  who 
sat  on  the  "  red  horse ''  when  he  went  to  his  victory  in  the 
Derby  at  Louisville.  He  is  one  of  the  best  men  on  the  turf 
to-day  and  everybody  has  a  good  word  for  him.  May  he 
live  and  die  with  the  same  respect  entertained  for  him. 

Charles  Green,  of  St.  Louis,  while  not  a  turfman,  is 
closely  identified  with  racing.  He  was  the  owner  of  the 
beautiful  old  Association  Course  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  and  is 
the  man  who  built  the  great  Fair  Grounds  Track  at  St. 
Louis,  Mo.  He  has  never  OAvned  any  horses  and  has  no 
breeding  interests.  Therefore,  he  was  always  actuated  by 
purely  patriotic  motives  toward  St.  Louis.  Mr.  Green  is  a 
scholar  and  came  up  in  the  famous  Jesuit  school,  where  he 
received  every  educational  advantage.  In  every  sense  of 
the  word  he  is  a  gentleman,  and  I  am  proud  to  be  able  to 


149 

say  he  is  my  friend.  Any  man  might  also  be  proud  of  the 
distinction. 

Julius  S.  Walsh  is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  entire 
South  and  West,  and  he  is  known  and  liked  by  everybody. 
As  president  of  the  great  Mississippi  Valley  Trust  Com- 
pany, he  stands  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  financial 
institutions  of  the  country.  He  has  been  a  director  in  the 
Fair  Grounds  Association,  but  he  has  never  had  the  time  to 
take  an  active  interest  in  racing.  However,  he  has  always 
done  what  he  could  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  breeders 
of  the  State  and  has  always  been  anxious  that  Missouri 
should  forge  to  the  front  in  this  respect.  A  liberal-minded, 
big-hearted  gentleman  in  every  respect,  he  is  esteemed  by 
all  who  know  him,  and  his  name  will  never  perish  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  of  St.  Louis. 

Ben  Lyons,  of  Sedalia,  is  a  broad-gauged  sportsman  in 
every  particular,  and  there  is  probably  no  man  in  the  State 
enjoying  a  higher  reputation  for  forcibility,  fairness  and 
cool-headedness.  He  owned  Sue  Derby,  by  Derby,  out  of 
Eglantine,  and  she  was  a  most  wonderful  animal.  Mr. 
Lyons  was  also  interested  in  the  great  Alvin  Adams  and  a 
score  of  others,  including  Lottie  Lee  and  Pittsburg.  He 
has  a  host  of  friends  wherever  he  is  known,  and  everybody 
has  a  high  regard  for  him.  All  the  turfmen  of  the  different 
parts  of  the  State  always  like  to  pass  through  Sedalia  in 
order  to  shake  the  hand  of  Ben  Lyons. 

Col.  Samuel  S.  Brown,  the  mighty  coal  king  of  Pitts- 
burg, was  one  of  the  foremost  turfmen  of  recent  times.  For 
years  he  stood  as  a  monument  in  the  South  and  West  and 
some  of  the  best  horses  that  ever  strode  across  a  race  track 
have  raced  in  his  colors.  The  principal  stallion  in  his  string 
was  the  great  Troubadour.  Col.  Brown  was  a  man  of  ster- 
ling integrity,  kind  to  almost  a  fault. 

Charles  Reed,  of  Gallatin,  Tenn.,  who  has  a  large 
breeding  establishment  there,  was  one  of  the  foremost  turf- 
men of  the  South.  He  is  an  enterprising  and  nervy  man, 
and  when  he  bid  $100,000  for  the  great  St.  Blaise  and  got 
him  he  certainly  showed  his  gameness  to  a  marked  extent. 
He  also  owned  Thora,  by  Longfellow,  and  a  host  of  others 
of  a  high  class.  Most  of  the  time  of  Mr.  Reed  is  spent  in 
New  York,  where,  as  a  man  of  great  intelligence,  honest  as 


the  day  is  long  and  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  he  is  be- 
loved by  all  who  have  the  honor  of  his  acquaintance. 

W.  F.  Schulte,  president  of  the  great  Louisville  Jockey 
Club,  is  one  of  the  rising  young  turfmen  of  the  country. 
He  has  owned  several  good  strings  of  horses  and  has  raced 
from  one  ocean  to  the  other  with  marked  success.  The 
most  of  the  horses  in  his  string  at  the  present  time  are  year- 
lings and  have  done  nothing,  but  they  are  all  very  promis- 
ing and  he  may  have  some  stake  winners  in  the  lot.  It  is 
hoped  that  he  has,  for  if  there  is  any  man  who  deserves  to 
meet  with  success  it  is  Mr.  Schulte.  In  his  own  town  he  is 
very  popular,  and  the  people  he  has  met  in  other  cities  all 
over  the  country  are  always  very  much  impressed  with 
him. 

Barney  Schreiber  is  one  of  the  best-known  turfmen  in 
the  great  State  of  Missouri,  and  there  is  probably  no  man 
who  has  done  more  for  the  racing  interests  of  the  State. 

His  splendid  breeding  establishment,  known  as  "  Wood- 
lands," is  located  thirteen  miles  from  the  city  of  St.  Louis, 
in  St.  Louis  County,  between  Bridgeton  and  Florissant.  It 
is  complete  in  every  particular,  and  Col.  Schreiber  has 
spared  no  expense  to  make  it  an  equine  paradise.  The 
stables  have  every  convenience  and  they  are  palatial  in 
their  appointments. 

At  present  Col.  Schreiber  has  four  great  stallions  in 
his  stalls  and  their  gets  have  already  distinguished  them. 
At  the  head  of  the  stud  stands  imported  Sain,  who  got  Otis, 
a  prominent  candidate  for  all  the  great  stakes  of  the  coun- 
try ;  fleet-footed  Corrigan  and  a  host  of  other  grand  winners. 
Then  there  is  Foul  Shot,  who  got  many  good  ones ;  Bal- 
gowan,  a  high-class  horse  himself,  and  a  stallion  of  much 
promise,  and  Bannockburn,  one  of  whose  sons  was  the  two- 
year-old  sensation  of  the  early  1906  in  California. 

When  the  now  famous  "  Woodlands  "  was  started  Col. 
Schreiber  collected  the  best  mares  that  money  could  secure. 
This  was  away  back  in  1895,  and  since  that  time  he  has 
clustered  about  him  some  of  the  finest  strains  that  England 
and  Australia  could  afford.  Sain  brings  with  his  get,  the 
strain  of  St.  Simon  and  Foul  Shot,  the  blood  of  the  mighty 
Musket.     This  is  the  blood  that  is  being  felt  in  turf  circles 


151 

to-day,  and  there  is  never  a  race  where  a  Sain  colt  or  filly- 
starts  when  they  may  be  counted  as  long  shots. 

Personally,  there  is  no  better  liked  man  in  all  Missouri 
than  Barney  Schreiber.  He  numbers  his  acquaintances  as 
his  friends,  and  they  cannot  say  too  much  in  praise  of  him. 
Of  sturdy  German  parentage,  liberal  in  his  views,  a  follower 
of  the  Golden  Rule  in  all  things,  a  hand  that  is  always  ex- 
tened  for  any  honest  man  to  grasp,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
he  is  popular  and  that  he  has  succeeded.  As  a  bookmaker, 
Barney  Schreiber  is  known  far  and  near  on  the  turf,  and 
everywhere  his  honesty  and  fairness  is  recognized.  The 
American  turf  would  be  better  off  if  there  were  more  men 
like  Barney  Schreiber  connected  with  it.  A  friend  of  all 
men,  all  men  are  his  friends. 

Before  closing  this  statement  of  the  affairs  of  beautiful 
"  Woodlands,"  I  wish  to  say  something  concerning  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  immense  breeding  establishment.  There 
are  about  200  stalls,  all  large  and  commodious,  and  it  takes 
a  small  fortune  to  keep  it  going.  The  private  track  is  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  country  and  natural  advantages  make  it 
very  fast.  No  breeder  in  the  world  looks  after  his  stock 
farm  with  more  care  than  does  Col.  Schreiber,  and  on  his 
return  from  his  occasional  pilgrimages  he  is  hailed  with 
welcomes  by  the  good  old  French  people,  who  constitute 
the  inhabitants  of  both  Florissant  and  Bridgeton.  If  they 
could  make  him  President  of  the  United  States,  he  would  be 
in  the  executive  mansion  in  less  time  than  it  takes  him  to 
record  a  two-dollar  bet  on  a  long  shot. 


CHAPTER  XX. 
Some  Noted  Ringers. 

Since  there  has  been  racing  in  America  there  have  been 
occasional  ringers  that  have  been  detected.  Of  course,  there 
may  have  been  others  that  the  public  wots  not  of,  but  the 
unfortunate  ones  who  were  caught  at  it  are  held  up  as  hor- 
rible examples. 

I  think  that  every  State  that  countenances  racing 
should  have  a  law  passed  making  ringing  obtaining  money 
by  false  pretenses  and  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the 
penitentiary.  Michigan  and  Virginia  already  have  such 
a  law,  and  the  Legislature  of  New  York  last  year,  at  the 
instance  of  the  State  Racing  Commission,  passed  a  very 
drastic  and  a  very  admirable  anti-ringing  bill,  making  the 
attempt  to  ring  equally  as  great  an  offence  as  the  actual 
ringing. 

Every  year  there  is  at  least  some  suspicion  of  ringing  ; 
but  there  have  been  no  notable  instances  and  detections 
during  the  past  twelve  months,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  the  attempt  at  Jamaica  with  the  horse  Freekman,  which 
was  detected  in  time.  I  think  the  idea  first  came  into  use 
with  county  fairs,  where  the  strange  farmer  with  the  rope 
harness  would  drive  in  with  his  burr-covered,  ungroomed 
old  horse  and  challenge  some  of  the  farmers  with  sleek  and 
glossy  animals  to  a  brush  for  a  hundred  or  more  a  side. 
Often  these  alleged  rustics  would  get  their  horses  in  a 
couple  of  races  and  clean  up  about  all  that  Jasper  and  Ma 
had  been  saving  all  summer. 

The  first  case  of  the  kind  I  ever  heard  of  was  a  fast 
trotter  belonging  to  a  man  named  Howland,  who  lived  in 
the  Middle  West.  He  was  an  ugly  brute  and  there  was  not 
the  slightest  trace  of  symmetry  in  his  makeup.  To  look  at 
him  one  would  figure  out  that  he  ought  to  be  able  to  make 
a  mile  in  about  six  minutes,  if  pushed  hard  with  the  whip. 

Then  this  man  owned  another  horse,  as  pretty  as  a  pic- 
ture. She  was  the  trimmest  looking  creature  that  I  ever 
beheld,  and  it  took  a  very  experienced  eye  to  be  able  to  say 


153 

that  she  could  not  reel  off  a  mile  in  about  2:20.  But  this 
animal  could  not  have  gone  around  the  block  and  got  back 
the  same  day.     She  was  as  slow  as  a  snail. 

Howland  hitched  up  the  old  horse  one  day  to  a  dilapi- 
dated wagon  and  drove  over  to  a  town  called  Charlestown, 
in  Indiana.  Beauty  was  tied  behind.  They  attracted  con- 
siderable attraction  as  he  drove  into  the  fair  grounds,  where 
the  races  were  about  to  begin.  Howland  tried  to  get 
Beauty  into  a  race,  but  the  farmers  would  have  none  of  it, 
for  they  considered  her  too  fast  for  their  horses  and  didn't 
care  to  present  the  purse  to  a  stranger,  preferring  to  have 
it  won  by  a  native. 

"  Let  me  put  in  old  Nance  then,"  said  Howland,  point- 
ing to  the  sorry  nag  in  the  shafts. 

This  was  agreed  to,  and  then  Howland  got  out  a  good, 
strong,  serviceable  sulky  from  the  interior  of  the  wagon.  It 
was  muddy  and  worn  in  many  places,  but  it  was  right.  When 
the  time  came  for  the  race  he  hitched  his  horse  up  with 
ropes  and  straps,  all  tied,  with  no  buckles,  and  in  his  hand, 
as  he  rode  out,  he  had  a  small  sapling  with  some  of  the 
branches  on  the  end  of  it.  It  looked  like  a  tree.  Everybody 
laughed,  and  there  was  many  a  jest  concerning  the  old  man 
and  his  horse. 

Howland  had  driven  over  alone,  but  he  had  sent  his 
partner  ahead  of  him,  and  the  latter  at  this  juncture  began 
to  circulate  around  among  the  bookmakers  and  the  farmers, 
taking  every  bet  he  could  get  on  the  old  nag.  Before  the 
people  realized  what  had  happened,  he  had  down  about 
$200  at  odds  of  from  2  to  3  to  i. 

It  was  two  in  three.  Old  Nance  had  no  time  to  lose, 
and  she  went  to  the  front  at  the  last  quarter  in  the  first  heat 
and  appeared  to  be  all  out.  She  did  not  look  like  she  could 
make  it  again,  and  the  confederate  had  little  trouble  in  get- 
ting down  some  more  money.  This  time  old  Nance  took 
the  lead  from  the  jump  and  kept  it  all  the  way  around  to 
the  wire.  Her  owner  collected  and  hastened  away  just  in 
time  to  escape  a  lynching.  This  man  is  said  to  have  worked 
this  scheme  all  over  Indiana  at  the  fairs,  and  then  he  went 
into  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  where  he  found  the 
farmers  equally  credulous.  Several  times  he  had  narrow 
escapes  from  losers  who  realized  what  had  happened,  but 
old  Nance  always  carried  him  out  on  the  road  to  safety. 


154 

Probably  the  greatest  race  where  there  was  a  ringer 
was  one  that  occurred  some  years  ago  at  Latonia.  There 
was  a  fast  Eastern  plater  called  Tanner,  bought  by  the 
Brannon  brothers,  of  Nashville,  and  by  them  entered  as  a 
maiden  called  Polk  Badget.  They  appeared  at  Latonia  with 
the  bogus  Polk  and  arranged  for  a  killing.  In  the  first  race 
where  he  was  entered  they  fairly  deluged  the  pool  rooms 
all  over  the  country  with  bets  on  his  chances.  The  odds 
were  very  large,  and  the  maiden  was  backed  down  to  almost 
odds  on. 

There  was  a  tremendous  amount  of  money  in  the  ring, 
and  it  was  all  put  down  by  the  Brannons  or  men  in  on  the 
play.  Polk  Badget  went  to  the  post,  got  started  with  the 
others,  and  made  the  bunch  resemble  a  Spanish  peseto  in 
war  time.  He  won  all  the  way  as  he  pleased,  and  the 
Brannons  lost  no  time  in  collecting  as  soon  as  the  race  was 
over.  They  were  afraid  they  would  be  caught  and  they 
could  afford  to  take  no  chances.  At  first  the  deception  was 
not  suspected  and  the  Brannons  cleaned  up  about  $90,000. 
Then  some  man  of  a  prying  mind  began  to  see  a  resem- 
blance between  Polk  Badget  and  Tanner.  The  whole  mat- 
ter came  out,  but  it  was  too  late  to  recover  and  the  grand 
coupe  had  been  effected. 

Just  prior  to  this  occurrence  the  same  people  are  sup- 
posed to  have  worked  the  Ijouisville  Jockey  Club  and  the 
bookmakers  of  the  Kentucky  city.  They  may  have  entered 
Tanner  as  Little  Dan,  an  unknown  horse.  It  was  in  a  purse 
race  and  there  was  nothing  especial  in  it  to  beat.  Every- 
body had  heard  of  Little  Dan  before,  and  he  had  never  been 
known  to  win  a  race  or  even  make  a  showing.  In  conse- 
quence the  odds  against  him  were  big. 

But  they  could  not  keep  the  secret  that  they  were 
going  to  make  a  killing,  for  a  little  stable  boy  heard  of  it 
and  he  told  it  over  at  the  feed  store  the  morning  of  the  day 
when  it  was  to  come  off.  Of  course,  it  was  noised  about  in 
that  circle  of  people  and  the  result  was  that  the  Brannons 
did  not  get  all  the  profit.  The  feed  store  people  got  down 
for  several  hundred  dollars.  But  the  bookmakers  were 
cleaned  up  good  and  strong,  and  when  they  learned  that 
they  had  been  fleeced  out  of  their  money  they  were  highly 
indignant  that  any  man  should  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the 


155 

turl  and  be  dishonest.  So  they  began  a  crusade  against 
the  Brannons,  but  succeeded  in  doing  them  no  harm. 

At  East  St.  Louis  Polk  Badget  ran  and  it  was  discov- 
ered just  after  the  race  that  he  was  the  celebrated  Tanner. 
The  money  had  been  paid  in  bets  and  it  was  too  late  to  get 
that  back,  but  the  exasperated  officials  seized  the  horse  and 
branded  him,  so  that  he  would  forever  afterward  be  known 
and  that  no  more  deception  could  be  practiced  by  the  wild 
Tennesseeans. 

Probably  the  ringer  that  caused  the  greatest  consterna- 
tion in  Missouri  was  Twilight  It  happened  many  years 
ago,  and  there  was  an  old-fashioned  hog  killing  on  the  re- 
sult. The  horse  was  a  high-class  animal,  and  he  was  entered 
under  a  name  other  than  his  own.  No  attention  was  paid 
him  by  any  one,  and  the  bookmakers  chalked  up  15  and  20 
to  I  on  his  chances.  As  rapidly  as  possible  the  promoters 
of  the  scheme  at  once  lost  no  time  in  getting  down  with  all 
the  money  they  could  raise.  Slowly  the  odds  decreased 
and  the  horse  went  to  the  post  nearly  a  favorite.  Besides, 
he  was  played  heavily  in  the  pool  rooms  all  over  the  coun- 
try and  perhaps  $100,000  was  won  on  this  race. 

Twilight  went  to  the  front  at  the  proper  time  and  can. 
tered  in  an  easy  winner.  Such  care  was  taken  with  him  by 
both  the  jockey  and  the  owner  that  it  was  not  suspected 
that  he  was  a  ringer  for  more  than  an  hour.  Then  it  began 
to  be  whispered  about  that  there  was  something  wrong.  So 
strong  was  the  suspicion  that  the  judges  appointed  several 
gentlemen  to  go  to  the  stable  and  see  if  this  fast  horse  was 
really  the  despised  Twilight.  When  they  arrived  at  the 
stable,  where  the  horse  had  been  kept  previously,  the  stall 
was  found  to  be  empty,  and  there  was  not  the  slightest 
trace  of  the  animal.  It  was  as  if  the  earth  had  opened  and 
swallowed  him. 

But  the  owners  and  promoters  of  the  scheme  had  col- 
lected everything  there  was  coming  to  them  and  they  lost 
no  time  in  getting  away.  The  fleet-footed  Twilight  was 
never  heard  of  afterward.  He  probably  became  his  proper 
self  and  raced  afterward,  but  he  was  not  recognized.  That 
he  was  a  ringer  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt. 

Little  I  Am  was  the  next  horse  of  the  ringing  variety. 
He  also  appeared  at  St.  Louis,  having  done  some  work  of  a 
first-class  character  at  several  Eastern  and  Southern  tracks. 


156 

But  Little  I  Am  was  an  unknown  horse,  who  had  done 
nothing  to  attract  attention  anywhere.  In  the  race  where 
he  was  entered  were  several  good  horses,  and  they  were  all 
held  above  him  in  the  betting.  The  odds  were  high  and  the 
conspirators  got  all  the  money  they  could  on  the  horse. 

The  horses  went  to  the  post  and  Little  I  Am  was  rated 
along  in  an  easy  position  until  the  last  eighth  was  reached. 
Then  his  rider  called  on  him  and  he  shot  ahead  and  won 
nicely.  It  did  not  look  suspicious  at  first,  but  when  the  past 
record  of  Little  I  Am  came  to  be  considered  it  was  apparent 
that  something  was  wrong.  An  investigation  brought  out 
the  full  particulars.  The  money  was  all  collected  on  him 
and  the  promoters  lost  nothing  by  being  caught. 

I  heard  of  one  other  little  case  while  I  was  in  Louis- 
ville. A  big,  burly  man  kept  a  livery  stable  on  Jefferson 
Street,  not  far  from  Sixth.  He  was  full  of  the  shrewdest 
kind  of  tricks  and  never  let  an  opportunity  pass  to  add  to 
qis  store  for  a  rainy  day.  One  morning  a  countryman 
entered  the  place  leading  an  old  flea-bitten  gray  horse. 

"Mister,''  he  said,  "I  want  to  sell  this  horse.  To  be 
honest  with  you,  I  see  he  is  failing  and  I  want  to  get  rid  of 
him.  You  sell  him  for  me  and  take  the  ten  per  cent,  com- 
mission.    Just  take  whatever  you  can  get.'' 

At  noon  that  day  the  man  returned  and  was  told  that 
the  horse  had  brought  ten  dollars.  The  stableman  kept 
one  dollar  for  having  made  the  sale  and  turned  the  other 
nine  dollars  over  to  the  countryman.  As  the  man  started 
to  leave  a  nephew  of  the  stableman  invited  him  to  go  into 
a  saloon  nearby  and  get  a  drink.  The  farmer  consented, 
having  had  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  stableman  and 
his  brother.  During  the  course  of  the  conversation  they 
had  over  the  bar  the  nephew  learned  that  the  countryman 
was  going  to  purchase  another  horse  before  he  left  for 
home.  He  managed  to  telephone  this  fact  to  his  uncle,  and 
about  an  hour  later,  after  they  had  taken  a  half  dozen 
drinks,  they  returned  to  the  stable.  There  the  rustic  made 
known  to  the  man  that  he  desired  to  purchase  a  horse.  At 
once  a  beautiful  black  was  led  out  and  $25  was  asked  for 
him.  The  rustic  thought  this  was  too  high,  and  finally  the 
stableman  consented  to  take  $20.  This  was  considered 
satisfactory  and  the  money  was  paid  over.  The  country- 
man returned  home  with  his  new  purchase. 


157 

The  next  day  it  just  poured  down  rain,  and  after  din- 
ner the  farmer  went  out  into  the  yard,  where  he  had  left 
his  new  and  beautiful  black,  and  there  stood  the  old  flea- 
bitten  gray.  The  stableman  had  dyed  him  and  sold  him 
back  to  his  former  owner.  He  had  not  time  to  do  a  good 
job  of  work  and  used  plain  lampblack,  which  the  rain 
washed  off. 

This  is  said  to  be  the  actual  truth,  and  the  man  about 
whom  it  is  told  is  now  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of 
the  city.  He  is  as  well  known  in  Louisville  at  this  time  as 
the  Mayor  of  the  city.  I  think  the  black  horse  was  a 
ringer. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
Training:  fof  a  Race. 

There  is  a  tendency  toward  returning  to  long  distances, 
and  a  happy  and  encouraging  fact  this  is,  though  it  is  not 
receiving  that  attention  from  the  public  breeder  to  which  it 
is  entitled.  The  private  breeder,  however,  is  blazing  the 
way,  and  racing  associations,  by  offering  large  rewards  for 
supremacy  in  such  events,  are  rapidly  compelling  acqui- 
escence in  the  plan.  It  is  popular  also,  for  nine  men  out  of  ten 
would  rather  see  a  good  long  race,  where  the  horses  pass 
the  stand  as  many  times  as  possible,  than  a  short  dash,  where 
one  is  hardly  interested  until  it  is  over.  In  the  olden  times 
there  was  the  greatest  excitement,  because  it  took  some  time 
for  the  contests  to  be  completed  and  because  there  was  an 
additional  interest  in  watching  the  struggle  of  one  horse  for 
the  supremacy  over  the  other. 

It  is  just  the  same  as  in  a  card  game.  If  it  were  all 
over  by  the  turn  of  a  single  card,  no  one  would  care  to  play 
whist,  and  thus  this  fashionable  and  highly  interesting  pas- 
time would  fade  and  die.  It  takes  time  to  produce  the  ex- 
citement that  is  attractive  to  anybody  but  one  who  has 
simply  gone  to  the  track  for  speculative  purposes.  The 
man  who  really  loves  the  sport  because  it  illustrates  the 
glory  of  the  horse  wants  to  see  the  actual  racing  and  just 
as  much  of  actual  contest  as  is  possible. 

The  olden  time  sportsmen  cared  comparatively  little  for 
the  money  to  be  won.  He  enjo)^ed  seeing  a  race  and  he 
was  not  in  the  least  actuated  by  sordid  motives.  William 
Walker,  who  rode  Ten  Broeck  in  his  famous  race  with 
MoUie  McCarthy,  once  told  the  writer  concerning  Mr.  Har- 
per, the  owner  of  the  horse  he  bestrode  and  piloted  to  vic- 
tory, that  Mr.  Harper  did  not  bet  a  cent  on  the  race  and 
never  bet  on  any  of  the  races  where  his  horses  were  en- 
tered. He  said  the  glory  of  winning  was  sufficient  for  him. 
Mr.  Harper  was  a  horseman  of  the  old  school  and  was  loved 
and  respected  because  of  his  fairness  and  devotion  to  the 
sport. 


159 

But  this  is  a  diversion.  What  I  started  out  to  tell  the 
people  of  the  present  time  was  how  a  man  trained  a  horse 
for  a  heat  race  when  it  was  necessary  for  a  trainer  to  thor- 
oughly understand  his  business.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
the  trainers  of  the  present  time  are  not  good  men,  but  I  de- 
sire to  convey  the  impression  that  they  are  wedded  to  short 
distances  and  that  there  are  not  many  of  them  who  would 
know  how  to  exactly  go  about  fitting  a  race  horse  for  a  long- 
distance race.  Of  course,  there  are  a  few,  and  they  are 
good  men,  who  have  had  experience  in  that  line.  The  same 
methods  are  not  used  in  the  new  school  as  were  used  by 
those  of  the  old.  But  in  the  event  of  a  return  to  the  long 
distances  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  trainers  of 
to-day  to  inform  themselves  on  the  very  matters  which  I 
am  discussing  here. 

We  will  take,  for  example,  the  case  of  a  trainer  taking 
one  horse  to  train  lor  a  stake  event  that  is  four  months  off. 
Let  us  assume  the  horse  to  start  in  this  race  has  just  been 
taken  up  out  of  the  pasture.  He  is  brought  to  the  track  or 
training  quarters,  and  the  first  care  of  the  trainer  must  be  to 
see  that  the  stall  is  comfortable.  It  must  have  plenty  of 
ventilation  and  there  must  be  a  nice  window  in  it.  This  win- 
dow must  be  sufficiently  high  to  prevent  a  draught  on  the 
horse,  so  as  not  to  give  him  a  cold  or  bring  on  any  disease 
resultant  therefrom.  Everything  must  be  clean  and  there 
must  be  no  ill  aroma,  for  this  is  a  disease  producer  as  well 
as  any  other  cause.  This  horse  must  be  handled  as  carefully 
as  a  child. 

The  first  day,  upon  arriving  at  the  training  quarters,  the 
horse  may  be  walked  about  the  track.  It  may  be  at  a  time 
when  there  are  flies,  or  his  feet  may  need  protection  to  pre- 
vent them  from  becoming  injured  by  stamping  or  anything 
of  that  order.  Therefore,  on  the  second  day  he  should  be 
shod.  Now,  this  is  not  always  the  case,  for  his  feet  may  not 
be  in  such  a  condition  as  to  require  it  then,  but  it  should 
not  be  long  until  this  is  done. 

You  have  now  provided  comfortable  quarters  and  seen 
to  your  horse's  feet.  These  are  the  salient  points  up  to  this 
time,  and  your  horse  is  ready  for  training.  If  he  comes  in 
from  the  pasture  very  gross  or  big  in  flesh,  he  should  not  eat 
over  ten  quarts  of  solid  grain  per  day,  one-third  of  it  corn. 


i6o 

In  the  absence  of  grass,  corn  is  the  natural  laxative.  At 
least  two  days  in  the  week  he  should  have  a  mash  at  noon, 
say  Tuesdays  and  Fridays.  The  mashes  should  always  be 
cooked.  It  is  frequently  the  case  at  the  present  time  that 
cold  ones  are  served,  and  they  often  produce  colic.  One 
might  go  on  for  twelve  months  and  not  have  an  accident 
from  this  cause,  but  in  the  thirteenth  month  he  would  go  to 
his  stable  some  morning  and  find  his  horse  dead  in  the  stall. 
Instead  of  feeding  the  mash  at  night,  it  should  be  given  at 
noon,  so  the  horse  may  show  the  effects  in  the  daytime. 

Walk  the  horse  the  first  week,  giving  him  short  trots 
occasionally  to  accustom  him  to  the  work.  Pursue  the  same 
course  the  second  weak,  but  you  may  gallop  him  if  he  is 
getting  along  nicely.  Then  when  you  send  him  out  for  the 
third  week  you  may  give  him  a  mile  and  a  quarter  gal- 
lop, and  then  walk  him  a  half  mile.  Give  him  another  mile 
and  a  quarter,  and  then  walk  him  about  until  he  is  rested. 
Take  him  back  to  the  stable  and  have  him  rubbed  down 
gently,  in  order  to  close  the  pores  of  the  skin,  which  have 
been  opened  by  the  exertion.  In  this  respect  he  is  just  like 
a  human  being.  A  man  always  feels  refreshed  after  toil 
by  a  good  rub  down,  and  it  is  so  with  a  horse. 

By  this  time  he  is  getting  pretty  well  along.  If  he  is 
very  gross,  he  should  be  given  a  two-mile  gallop,  walked  a 
half  mile  and  given  another  one  of  two  miles.  At  this  time 
his  feed  should  be  increased  to  twelve  quarts  of  solid  grain 
per  day.  But  if  he  is  not  gross,  the  distance  should  not  be 
increased  to  over  a  mile  and  one-half.  This  refers  to  a  deli- 
cate horse. 

The  latter  animal  should  be  taught  to  eat  as  much  as 
possible,  in  order  to  increase  his  strength  and  vitality.  If 
the  bowels  are  too  loose,  cut  off  the  mashes  for  a  time;  but  if 
the  animal  is  inclined  to  constipation,  they  should  be  kept  up. 
By  this  time,  if  there  has  been  nothing  of  a  nature  that  has 
affected  the  horse's  condition,  you  may  begin  to  move  him 
along  at  the  rate  of  30  seconds  to  the  quarter  two  days  in 
the  week.  With  such  a  horse  there  should  be  no  change 
made  until  the  end  of  the  sixth  week.  Of  course,  you  must 
be  governed  by  circumstances. 

If  the  track  is  good  and  the  weather  favorable,  you  may 
work  the  horse  at  a  two-minute  gait  for  half  a  mile.      This 


i6i 

should  be  done  twice  a  week  and  kept  up  until  the  eighth 
week.  There  are  yet  two  months  in  which  to  get  him  ready 
for  the  great  race  in  which  he  is  entered.  He  has  got  along 
nicely  until  this  time,  and  there  is  no  change  in  his  condition. 
Even  if  the  horse  is  perfectly  healthy  and  still  is  gross, 
he  should  have  a  ball,  which  will  loosen  him  up  and  cool 
him  off,  as  well  as  act  as  a  tonic.  During  the  twenty-four 
hours  preceding  the  giving  of  the  medicine  at  least  two 
mashes  should  be  given.  This  prepares  him  to  receive  the 
ball. 

A  ball  consists  of  five  drachms  of  fresh  Barbados  aloes, 
one  drachm  of  calomel,  half  drachm  of  rhubarb,  half  drachm 
of  ginger,  mixed  and  worked  into  a  ball  or  pill.  Roll  it  in  a 
little  flour,  so  it  will  not  stick  to  the  hands,  and  in  the  event 
there  is  no  veterinary  near,  it  is  always  best  to  insert  a  ball- 
ing iron,  so  the  horse  cannot  bite  you.  Be  sure  to  get  the 
ball  back  of  the  tongue,  holding  the  tongue  with  the  left 
hand.     Release  the  tongue  and  down  goes  the  ball. 

This  operation  should  be  done  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  the  horse  should  be  placed  in  a  stall  with  a 
muzzle  on,  to  prevent  his  eating.  At  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning  the  horse  should  show  some  symptoms  of  its  act- 
ing. In  the  case  there  is  no  evidence  of  its  acting,  the  horse 
should  be  walked  or  trotted  to  bring  about  such  an  action. 
After  the  medicine  shows  its  effects,  begin  to  check  him. 
The  idea  is  to  get  the  medicine  properly  diffused  into  the 
system.  Feed  him  some  dry  hay  or  oats.  Often  a  horse 
will  eat  hay  when  he  will  not  eat  anything  else.  It  is  just 
as  important  to  get  the  medicine  out  of  a  horse  as  it  is  to 
get  it  into  him.  The  idea  is  not  to  purge  a  horse  violently, 
for  it  may  make  him  sick  for  six  months  at  a  time.  Careless 
and  incompetent  trainers  will  bring  about  this  state  of  af- 
fairs nine  times  out  of  ten,  and  they  should  not  attempt  it 
unless  they  know  just  what  they  are  doing. 

For  forty-eight  hours  after  the  medicine  has  been  ad- 
ministered and  the  purging  has  stopped,  the  horse  should 
be  kept  in  a  stall  where  the  temperature  is  even,  so  he  will 
not  take  cold  and  become  weakened  in  any  manner.  Then 
he  should  begin  to  eat  regularly  again. 

At  first,  upon  taking  him  out  on  the  track,  he  should  be 
simply  walked  around  for  a  few  days  and  then  gradually 


l62 

put  to  work  until  he  gets  back  to  his  two-mile  canters  again. 
He  is  now  a  horse  in  perfect  condition,  and  there  will  be  no 
further  trouble  with  him  if  he  is  cared  for  properly.  Go  on 
as  before  carefully  for  another  week.  Then  let  him  move  a 
fast  quarter — say,  about  thirty  seconds.  At  the  end  of  this 
week  send  him  along  for  a  half  mile  in  about  :58,  and  one 
week  later  breeze  him  along  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  two 
minutes.     Do  this  twice  a  week. 

Five  weeks  remain  in  which  to  prepare  for  the  race. 
Gallop  him  two  miles  and  repeat  each  day,  making  him  do 
the  last  mile  in  about  two  minutes. 

Four  weeks  remain.  Work  him  again  in  about  1:50  in 
order  to  tighten  him  up.  There  are  three  weeks.  Give 
him  a  mile  and  a  quarter  in  as  good  as  2:15  or  thereabouts. 
If  this  is  done  on  Monday  or  Tuesday,  he  should  be  given  a 
mile  in  1:50  live  days  later.  Two  weeks  remain.  Send  him 
a  couple  of  miles  on  Monday  in  3:50.  The  latter  part  of  the 
week  send  him  down  a  mile  in  1:45.  Plate  him  at  this  junc- 
ture, and  send  him  with  company,  if  possible,  whatever  the 
distance  is,  in  about  as  fast  time  as  he  will  go  of  his  own  vo- 
lition. Four  days  later  (he  has  but  two  days  left)  give  him 
another  two  miles  well  within  himself,  not  pushing  him. 

He  is  now  fit  and  ready  to  run  his  first  race  of  the  sea- 
son. The  usual  gallops  may  be  given  the  last  two  days. 
Early  in  the  morning  on  the  day  of  the  race  he  should  be 
moved  a  quarter  or  an  eighth  with  some  horse  as  a  test  to 
show  whether  he  had  retained  his  speed  with  all  this  work. 
If  he  is  cheerful,  feeds  and  shows  the  proper  example  in 
the  stable,  he  may  be  pronounced  fit  to  race. 

This  method  is  not  infallible,  for  the  horse  may  be  a  dif- 
ferent one  than  I  have  described.  A  wholly  different  treat- 
ment is  needed  where  the  animal  is  delicate  and  not  strong 
and  hardy.  There  can  be  no  special  mode  of  treatment 
given  for  the  care  of  any  horse,  for  he  may  be  of  a  different 
temperament.  Then  another  horse  may  not  need  one-fourth 
of  this  treatment  to  get  him  in  condition.  This  is  something 
that  the  level-headedness  of  the  trainer  must  determine. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 
How  to  Treat  a  Horse. 


Veterinary  Hints  from  the  Pen  of  a  Man  Who  Has  Used  Them 
in  All  His  Practice  for  Sixty  Years. 

Among  the  most  virulent  and  fatal  diseases  indiginous 
to  this  climate  and  also  the  most  obstinate  to  treat  come 
under  the  heads  of  glanders  and  farcy. 

I  speak  of  these  difficulties  mainly  to  enable  the  trainer 
or  any  farmer  to  detect  the  symptoms  and  prevent  their 
spread,  as  they  are  extremely  contagious  for  both  man  and 
horse.      TJiey  are  incurable. 

To  guard  against  the  possibility  of  danger,  when  a  case 
is  suspected,  the  only  safe  way  is  to  at  once  either  isolate  or 
destroy  the  animal.  I  depend  mainly  for  the  explanation 
of  these  diseases  upon  several  old  authors.  They  fully 
agree  with  the  statements  of  modern  authors  that  it  is  prac- 
tically useless  to  tamper  with  the  glanders.  Farcy,  in  its 
early  stages,  can  be  controlled  without  difficulty,  but  the 
powerful  medicine  that  it  is  necessary  to  use  impairs  the 
constitution.  In  addition,  the  disease  is  liable  to  break  out 
again  or  develop  glanders.  Distinctive  symptoms  which 
glanders  present  may  be  slow  in  their  development,  and 
may  continue  for  years  before  they  are  well  defined,  during 
which  time  the  horse  may  feed  and  work  well.  But  chronic 
glanders  may  finally  become  apparent. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  may  run  on  for  two  or  three 
weeks  very  rapidly  and  make  their  positive  presence  known 
by  well  defined  marks.  These  cases  soon  come  to  a  fatal 
termination. 

When  it  is  called  acute  glanders  the  coat  becomes 
rough  and  starring.  The  animal  is  usually  hide-bound,  the 
belly  drawn  up,  constitutional  disturbances  exist,  pulse 
easily  excited,  membrane  lining  of  nostrils  of  a  leaden  hue, 
glands  inside  lower  jaw  where  pulse  is  felt  enlarged,  hard 
and  nodular,  like  a  mass  of  peas  or  beans,  especially  on  the 
side  from  which  the  discharge  takes  place — usually  the  left, 


** 


164 

but  sometimes  the  right,  or  even  from  both ;  discharge  is 
clear  and  watery  at  first,  becoming  thicker  and  sticky, 
accumulating  around  the  nostrils ;  cough  may  be  present, 
but  is  not  an  invariable  symptom  ;  as  the  disease  advances 
the  discharge  increases,  becomes  purulent,  sometimes  mixed 
with  streaks  of  blood  ;  it  is  of  a  heavy  specific  gravity,  and 
if  dropped  into  water  it  sinks  to  the  bottom  at  once  ;  it  has 
a  very  effusive  smell ;  the  gland  on  the  affected  side  adheres 
to  the  side  of  the  jaw ;  ulcerating  tubercules  form  on  the 
nostrils,  which  have  a  mouse-eaten  appearance,  being  raised 
and  irregular  at  the  edges  and  depressed  in  the  center ; 
they  run  into  patches  and  spread  over  the  whole  nasal  sep- 
tum ;  weakness  and  emaciation  set  in  ;  the  ulceration  in 
some  cases  extends  to  the  cartilages,  and  even  the  bones  are 
sometimes  implicated  ;  occasional  bleedings  ensue. 

This  disease  and  farcy  may  be  termed  one  and  the  same 
after  certain  stages  present  themselves  in  farcy,  and  both 
are  very  contagious.  Farcy  should  be  promptly  treated  in 
its  early  stages. 

Pink-Eye. — The  symptoms  are  shown  in  a  staggering 
gait,  hanging  head,  shivering  as  from  cold,  loss  of  appetite, 
watery  discharge  from  the  eyes,  one  eye  generally  closed, 
especially  the  left  one,  pulse  quickened  and  weak — from  50 
to  60  per  minute,  breathing  hurried,  temperature  from  104 
to  106,  bowels  bound,  urine  scanty,  pinkish  color  of  mucus 
member  of  the  eyelids  always  present  in  this  disease. 

Treatment. — i  ounce  carbonate  ammonia. 

2  ounces  cinchona  bark,  powdered. 

y^  ounce  nux  vomica. 

2  drachms  digitalis  leaves. 

3  ounces  gentian  root. 

Mix  and  make  into  eight  balls.  Give  all  the  water  the 
horse  will  drink,  to  which  add,  say,  an  ounce  of  saltpetre. 
Balls  should  be  used  after  the  second  day,  giving  two  per 
day,  one  morning  and  the  other  at  night  before  feeding. 
The  animal  should  have  gentle  exercise  for  a  half  hour  both 
morning  and  night  and  should  be  in  a  warm,  comfortable, 
well-ventilated  stable.  No  draught  should  be  permitted  to 
come  directly  on  the  horse.  Give  reasonable  quantity  of 
nutritious  food.  Be  sure  and  keep  the  bowels  consistently 
open  at  all  times.     This  treatment  usually  insures  a  cure. 


i65 

Cough  or  Chronic  Cough. — Put  into  alcohol  all  the 
tar  it  will  cut.  Add  one-third  in  quantity  belladonna  (tinc- 
ture). Dose,  from  one  to  two  teaspoonfuls  once  or  twice  a 
day.  Another  simple  remedy  which  will  sometimes  work 
very  nicely  is  fluid  extract  of  belladonna,  lo  to  15  drops,  in 
tablespoonful  of  water  on  the  tongue  three  or  four  times  a 
day.  If  there  is  swelling  of  the  glands  of  the  neck,  rub  on 
a  sharp  stimulant  or  mild  blister.  The  writer  has  used  this 
very  successfully,  and  in  sudden  attacks  I  mainly  rely  upon 
this  treatment  for  allaying  the  coughing. 

Laminitis  or  Founder. — This  disease  may  be  de- 
scribed as  simply  congestion  or  inflammation  of  the  feet.  It 
may  be  severe  or  moderate,  according  to  the  degree  of 
disturbance.  If  inflammation  runs  high  and  is  allowed  to 
continue,  it  is  liable  to  produce  so  much  disorganization  as 
to  cause  loss  of  the  hoof.  This,  however,  rarely  ever  hap- 
pens. It  produces  so  much  change  in  the  structure  of  the 
horse  as  to  make  him  ultimately  stiff  and  sore  and  practi- 
cally worthless  except  for  slow,  easy  work.  There  are  two 
stages  of  this  disease,  acute  and  chronic.  The  first  pro- 
duces a  high  state  of  excitement  and  inflammation  of  the 
sensitive  lamina  and  more  or  less  of  the  internal  structure 
of  the  foot  generally.  The  second  stage  develops  a  morbid 
or  insensitive  feeling  of  the  parts  generally.  The  first  can 
be  invariably  cured  if  properly  treated,  which  is  not  dif- 
ficult. The  second  stage  may  be  palliated  or  partially 
relieved,  but  can  never  be  cured.  The  treatment  is  simple 
and  very  effective.  Put  warm  applications  to  the  feet  in 
the  nature  of  poultices  or  water  as  hot  as  can  be  borne 
without  scalding  the  animal.  If  possible,  put  him  into  a  tub, 
so  the  water  may  reach  up  to  the  knees.  Place  a  man  on 
each  side  with  a  sponge  or  rag  and  let  them  bathe  well  the 
entire  arm  of  the  horse,  while  the  feet  get  the  benefit  of 
the  bath  standing  in  the  bucket  or  tub.  The  latter  is 
always  preferable,  because  it  has  greater  capacity  to  hold 
water  and  is  stronger  to  support  the  horse.  A«  little  chafif 
or  straw  thrown  in  the  bottom  of  the  tub  for  the  animal  to 
place  his  tender  feet  upon  while  being  bathed  is  a  good  idea. 
In  the  meantime  there  should  be  some  embrocation  or 
liniment  rubbed  over  or  into  the  shoulders  and  along  the 


i66 

back  and  spine.  As  soon  as  this  is  done  (gently),  in  case 
the  weather  should  be  cold,  windy  or  otherwise  inclement, 
a  blanket  or  enough  covering  of  some  kind  to  guard  against 
chilling  should  be  placed  on  the  horse  and  fastened  with 
skewers  or  any  other  device  that  will  hold  it  in  proper 
place. 

We  suppose  the  animal,  by  this  time,  to  have  been  in 
the  hot  bath  one  and  one-half  hours.  If  it  has  been  impos- 
sible to  secure  hot  water,  then  hot  poultices  may  be  used. 
But  if  neither  of  these  are  obtainable,  place  the  horse  in  a 
pond  belly  deep.  Let  him  stand  there  two  or  three  hours 
in  the  soft  mud  and  water,  so  as  to  help  allay  the  inflammation. 
After  leaving  the  pond  take  the  horse  to  the  nearest  place 
where  hot  water  and  poultices  can  be  found.  The  poul- 
tices should  be  made  of  turnips,  flaxseed  meal,  or  well- 
scalded  bran,  applied  to  the  feet  well  up  to  the  pasterns  by 
means  of  sacks,  heavy  rags  or  boots  made  especially  for  that 
purpose.  It  is  understood  that  the  poultices  must  not  be 
permitted  to  become  dry.  Lukewarm  water  should  be 
applied  to  the  feet  and  bag  or  boot,  so  as  to  keek  up  plenty 
of  moisture.  If  allowed  to  dry  out,  this  would  increase  the 
inflammation  and  thereby  prove  a  detriment.  On  leaving 
the  pond  or  tub  of  hot  water  the  horse  should  be  placed  in 
a  well-ventilated  though  comfortable  stable  and  the  lance 
should  be  applied  to  what  is  usually  called  the  plate  vein, 
which  comes  down  on  the  inside  of  the  foreleg.  This 
artery  should  be  lanced  just  above  the  knee  in  both  fore- 
legs and  at  least  one  quart  of  blood  taken  from  each  leg. 
After  this  the  finger  or  thumb  may  be  placed  tight  against 
the  orifice  or  cut  made  with  the  lance,  so  as  to  coagulate 
the  blood  and  check  the  bleeding.  Bandages,  if  convenient 
to  get,  should  be  applied  as  high  up  the  leg  as  can  be  gotten, 
as  an  artificial  support.  A  good,  clean  bed  of  straw  should 
be  spread  under  him.  A  full-habited  or  gluttonous  horse 
should  be  given  three  or  four  carrots  or  one  quart  of  oats 
with  one  and  a  half  quarts  of  bran  well  scalded  and  mixed 
together  to  eat.  Then  a  well-ventilated  muzzle  should  be 
placed  on  the  horse  to  guard  against  his  eating  new  or  clean 
straw.  Nothing  is  more  likely  to  stiffen  or  founder  a  horse 
than  overloading  the  stomach  with  newly  threshed  rye  or 
wheat  straw.     The  next  essential  is  rest  and  perfect   quiet, 


167 

that  the  animal  may  lie  down,  if  he  will,  so  as  to  relieve  the 
forelegs  of  all  the  weight  possible.  When  he  rises  to  his 
feet  again — say  within  two  or  three  hours — and  by  his 
actions  expresses  that  he  is  suffering  great  pain,  he  should 
be  given  two  or  three  drachms  of  powdered  opium  or  five 
or  ten  grains  of  morphine.  If  available,  one  or  two  grains 
of  morphine  should  be  injected  under  the  skin,  as  there  is 
nothing  that  so  tells  on  a  horse's  strength  as  excessive  pain. 
If  the  bowels  should  show  in  the  least  undue  dryness  or  a 
tendency  to  constipation,  a  mild  cathartic  should  be  ad- 
ministered— five  drachms  Barbados  aloes,  one  drachm  of 
ginger,  enough  bar  soap  to  make  a  mass  ;  make  into  a  ball 
and  give  quietly,  so  as  not  to  irritate  the  patient.  From  the 
beginning  of  the  treatment  administer  from  8  to  10  drops  of 
aconite  every  half  hour  for  lour  or  five  hours.  In  cases 
where  there  is  much  inflammation  I  have  never  found  any 
treatment  to  equal  it,  and  I  have  treated  successfully  many 
bad  cases  of  laminitis  and  founder  with  this  method.  In 
high  fever  all  of  the  gruel  and  water  the  animal  will  drink 
and  a  sufficient  quantit}^  of  wet  mashes  and  carrots  or  green 
stuff  (grass)  to  keep  up  vitality  should  be  given.  A  little 
solid  grain  should  be  given,  which  will  assist  nature  to 
resist  all  maladies  and  enables  her  to  react  against  them. 
Exhaustion  means  a  want  of  vitality,  and  both  man  and 
beast  often  go  down  to  the  grave  because  they  too  often  get 
too  much  medicine  and  not  enough  nutrition  in  the  way  o' 
food.     They  sometimes  die  from  sheer  weakness. 

Catarrh  or  Cold  in  the  Head. — This  is  an  affection 
of  the  lining  of  the  membranes  of  the  nasal  chambers  and 
cavities  of  the  head.  It  consists  in  a  congested  or  inflamed 
state  of  that  membrane,  giving  rise  to  a  glistening  discharge 
from  one  or  both  nostrils.  When  the  head  of  the  windpipe 
or  larynx  is  implicated,  accompanied  with  cough,  well- 
defined  symptoms  of  catarrh  are  manifested.  The  majority 
of  young  horses  under  five  years  of  age  may  be  said  to  be 
predisposed  to  this  affection.  The  exciting  causes  are 
sudden  variations  in  the  temperature,  undue  exposure  to 
cold  when  an  animal  is  in  a  heated  state,  especially  after  a 
hard  day's  work  or  drive  or  standing  in  badly  ventilated 
stables  or  any  place  where  the  animal  is  exposed  to  cold 


i68 

draughts.  Perhaps  the  most  common  cause  of  catarrh  in 
young  horses  is  placing  them  in  warm  stables  in  the  fall 
immediately  upon  taking  them  off  the  pastures.  The  sud- 
den change  from  a  cold  to  a  hot  temperature  is  more  likely 
to  cause  catarrh  than  a  change  from  a  hot  to  a  cold  stable. 

Symptoms. — If  the  horse  is  standing  in  the  stable,  he 
will  appear  dull  and  mopish,  inclined  to  hang  his  head  in 
the  manger ;  the  mouth  is  hot  and  the  pulse  quickened  and 
weak ;  the  coat  begins  to  be  starring  and  the  lining  mem- 
brane of  the  nose  is  reddened ;  if  the  larynx  is  involved, 
light  pressure  on  that  region  will  cause  coughing.  This  is 
the  congestive  stage.  It  will  soon  pass  off  and  exudation 
take  place  from  the  vessels,  causing  a  discharge  from  the 
nostrils,  at  first  watery  and  gradually  becoming  thicker  and 
of  a  yellowish  hue.  In  some  instances  this  matter  becomes 
pent  up  within  the  sinusses  of  the  head,  and  comes  away 
every  three  or  four  hours  in  quantities.  A  watery  discharge 
from  the  eyes  is  often  an  accompaniment  of  catarrh.  Should 
these  symptoms  become  aggravated  the  appetite  is  impaired, 
the  bowels  costive  and  the  foeces  passed  are  of  a  clayey 
nature,  legs  and  ears  cold,  breathing  accelerated.  Catarrh, 
if  improperly  treated  or  neglected  by  keeping  the  animal 
at  work,  having  constantly  changing  temperatures,  is  very 
apt  to  descend  to  the  chest  and  prove  a  prolific  source  for 
more  formidable  diseases,  such  as  pneumonia,  pleurisy, 
bronchitis. 

Treatment. — Keep  the  bowels  open,  feed  carrots  and 
mashes,  use  counter-irritation  of  the  larynx  with  mustard, 
keep  throat  wrapped  up  with  a  blanket  or  something  else, 
so  as  to  break  off  the  cold  from  the  thorax,  give  all  the  luke- 
warm water  or  scalded  gruel  made  of  meal  mixed  in  water. 
Then  give  internally  two  drachms  of  belladonna  and  one 
ounce  of  chlorate  of  potash,  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
honey,  to  be  made  into  the  form  of  an  electuary  and  applied 
with  a  spoon  to  the  back  of  the  tongue  ;  also  put  one-half 
ounce  chlorate  of  potash  into  a  bucket  of  water  and  keep  it 
before  the  animal,  that  he  may  drink  of  it  when  he  desires 
to  do  so. 

Strangles  or  Distemper. — This  disease  is  akin  to 
catarrh,  as  both  are  creatures  of  the  same  causes.     Both 


169 

may  be  brought  on  by  the  animal  being  subjected  to  ex- 
posure to  sudden  changes  of  temperatures — from  dry  to 
damp  and  from  hot  to  cold.  The  disease  differs  from  catarrh, 
because  it  most  frequently  attacks  young  horses,  generally 
from  two  to  five  years  old.  It  seems  to  be  nature's  design 
to  throw  some  poisonous  matter  from  the  system,  and  the 
treatment  should  be  that  which  will  assist  the  animal  best 
and  most  readily  in  doing  so.  The  vitality  should  be  as- 
sisted, therefore,  by  feeding  nutritious  food,  in  the  nature 
of  vegetables  and  bran  mashes,  keeping  the  bowels  open 
and  strengthening  the  animal  at  the  same  time.  This  dis- 
ease occurs  most  often  in  springtime,  and  shows  itself  dur- 
ing damp,  cold  weather,  in  radical  changes  of  temperature 
or  when  horses  are  being  changed  from  one  locality  to 
another,  as  from  the  country  out  of  a  pasture,  where  there 
is  plenty  of  pure,  cool,  healthy  air,  to  which  they  have  be- 
come acclimated,  and  placed  in  a  hot  stable  in  the  city.  It 
rarely  ever  fails  to  bring  on  a  violent  attack  of  catarrh  and 
distemper,  and  sometimes  pneumonia  also. 

Trcatviejtt. — Provide  a  well-ventilated  stable,  clothe 
warmly,  rub  and  bandage  the  legs  with  good,  warm  flannel, 
use  freely  a  poultice  made  of  warm  water,  bran  and  vinegar, 
to  be  applied  to  the  throat  so  as  to  encourage  a  free  dis- 
charge of  puss.     In  an  hour  apply  again. 

To  Treat  a  Curb. — Grease  with  lard  from  the  curb  spot 
to  the  hoof  after  applying  the  blister  and  daily  as  long  as  it 
discharges.  It  should  run  freely  for  36  or  48  hours.  It 
will  remove  the  lump  in  a  scab  from  the  curb.  Muzzle 
horse  till  blister  is  stopped.  Stop  the  blister  and  dress  it 
daily  afterward  with  sweet  oil  or  lard.  The  horse  should 
not  be  worked  till  the  swelling  leaves  the  legs. 

Blood  OR  Bog  Spavin. — Wet  the  part  well  with  acetic 
acid,  rub  in  slightly  with  bare  hand.  Moisture  like  dew 
should  come  from  it  in  three  minutes.  If  it  does  not  sweat 
this  way,  apply  once  daily  until  it  does  so.  Apply  afterward 
once  a  week  until  cured.  Turn  the  animal  out  and  let  him 
exercise  in  a  lot  or  field.  Severe  exercise  should  be  avoided. 
Feed  moderately. 

Spasm  of  the  Diaphragm  or  Colic. — This  is  gener- 
ally provoked  by  the  heedlessness  of  the  rider.  A  horse  is 
overmarked,  as  the  condition  is  technically  called,  when  the 


animal  is  urged  onward  to  the  point  of  falling.  The  person 
who  may  occupy  the  saddle  becomes  conscious  of  a  strange 
and  loud  noise  coming  from  tne  body  which  he  bestrides. 
It  appears  to  the  equestrian  as  though  some  demon  were 
located  within  the  carcase  and  was  violently  striking  the 
sides.  Should  the  indication  be  observed  the  noise  will  be 
found  to  proceed  from  behind  or  immediately  under  the 
rider.  This  noise  is  produced  by  a  spasm  of  the  diaphragm. 
The  horse  must,  as  the  word  overmarked  seems  to  imply, 
have  been  pushed  far  beyond  the  point  where  man  should 
have  pulled  the  reins  a  little  distance  further  back.  After 
the  symptoms  are  developed  they  will  bring  the  animal  to 
the  ground.  Stop  him  immediately.  The  rider  should  dis- 
mount. The  loins  should  be  covered  with  the  rider's  coat, 
if  nothing  better  be  at  hand.  The  rider  who  has  caused 
the  misery  is  bound  to  make  any  sacrifice  for  its  alleviation. 
The  girths  should  be  loosened,  the  bridle  removed,  and, 
when  time  has  passed  for  the  s)-stem  to  become  slightly 
tranquilized,  the  animal  should  be  led  gently  to  the  nearest 
shelter.  So  soon  as  it  is  under  cover  the  following  drink 
should  be  administered,  but  time  should  be  taken  to  give 
the  medicine,  as  the  condition  of  the  horse  forbids  all 
haste : 

Sulphuric  ether,  2  ounces. 

Tincture  of  camphor,  yi  ounce. 

Opium  (tincture),  i  ounce. 

Cold  water  or  gruel,  i  pint. 

This  should  be  repeated  every  quarter  of  an  hour  till 
four  drinks  are  swallowed.  Then  the  intervals  should  be 
lengthened  to  half  an  hour,  and  as  the  symptoms  decrease 
the  medicine  ought  to  be  administered  at  still  longer  peri- 
ods, and  ultimately  but  graduallv  withdrawn.  There  are, 
however,  other  things  to  be  done.  When  the  animal  is  first 
brought  in  get  two  assistants ;  give  two  leg  bandages  to 
each  of  the  helpers,  together  with  a  sponge  and  a  basin  of 
cold  water.  The  four  legs  should  be  bandaged  and  the 
mouth  sponged  out,  also  nose,  eyes  and  anas.  The  horse 
should  not  be  excited  in  the  least  and  the  work  should  be 
performed  very  quietly.  This  done,  if  the  ears  are  cold 
they  should  be  pulled  and  the  head  rubbed  slightly,  in  order 
to  bring  up  circulation.     Clothing  should  be  put  on — hood 


171 

and  body  clothing.  Wet  swabs  should  then  be  placed  on 
the  feet  and  a  pail  of  gruel  suspended  from  the  manger. 
Spasm  of  the  diaphragm,  if  taken  in  time,  is  not  gen- 
erally fatal,  and  no  man,  however  determined  a  Nimrod 
he  may  be,  is  justified  in  proceeding  after  having  recognized 
so  mysterious  a  warning.  The  sound  before  alluded  to 
must  emphatically  inform  the  rider  that  all  is  not  right  with 
the  animal  on  which  he  is  seated.  When  spasm  of  the  dia- 
phragm terminates  fatally,  approaching  dissolution  is  an- 
nounced by  easily  recognized  signs.  The  pulse  cannot  be 
felt  under  the  jaw  ;  the  heart  only  flutters,  instead  of  beat- 
ing regularly  ;  the  feet  are  icy  cold,  a  yellow  discharge 
drains  from  the  nostrils,  breath  becomes  fetid,  pupil  of  the 
eye  enlarges,  the  horse  wanders  round  and  round  its  box 
and  soon  sinks  and  perishes. 

Typhoid  Pneumonia. — This  cause  is  mainly  attributed 
to  those  influences  which  interfere  with  the  general  health 
and  vigor  of  the  animal — overcrowding,  improper  ventila- 
tion, confinement  in  damp,  filthy  stables,  drinking  bad  water 
which  holds  in  solution  decomposing  organic  matter,  in- 
sufficient nourishment  and  undue  exposure,  together  with 
what  may  be  termed  general  atmospheric  cause. 

Symptoms. — The  horse  is  off  his  feed,  disinclination  to 
move,  appetite  gone,  pulse  weak  and  low,  will  sometimes 
eat  a  little,  but  will  not  lie  down,  stands  hanging  his  head, 
is  listless  and  stupid,  not  much  cough,  rarely  any  discolora- 
tion of  the  membrane  of  the  nose  or  eyes,  urine  scanty  and 
high  colored,  foeces  hard  and  coated.  After  two  or  three 
days  the  membranes  of  the  nose  and  eyes  become  a  little  dis 
colored  or  red,  the  pulse  becomes  quicker — sixty-five  to 
seventy,  breathes  quicker.  About  the  fourth  or  fifth  day 
there  is  usually  a  discharge  from  the  nostrils  of  brackish, 
bran-colored  cerum. 

Treatment. — As  the  word  typhoid  means  low,  it  is 
necessary  to  watch  it  carefully  in  that  stage,  which  will  last, 
as  described  in  "  Symptoms,"  the  first  four  or  five  days.  In 
many  cases  the  pulse  will  run  down  to  thirty.  Stimulants 
should  be  used  at  this  stage,  such  as  a  little  brandy  and 
water  or  whisky  and  water.  A  gill  or  two  of  the  stimulant 
should  be  given  as  a  drench,  or,  what  is  better,  take  carbo- 


172 

nate  of  ammonia  from  one  to  two  drachms,  powdered  ginger 
root  from  one  to  two  drachms ;  made  into  a  ball  with  honey 
or  molasses  ;  administer  twice  a  day.  It  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  this  treatment  is  to  be  used  only  in  the  low  stage 
of  the  disease.  If  the  pulse  rises  to  fifty  or  sixty  on  the  fifth 
or  sixth  day,  then  the  patient  should  be  treated  as  if  for 
pleurisy  and  fever  medicines  used.  Under  this  latter  treat- 
ment the  pulse  will  subside  and  resume  its  natural  number 
of  beats  (40).  In  this  form  of  the  disease  the  horse  is  ex- 
tremely prostrated  at  first,  the  whole  system  being  inactive. 
At  first  the  pulse  may  run  up  to  seventy  or  eighty.  The 
horse  should  be  kept  moderately  warm,  the  head,  neck  and 
extremities  clothed  well ;  should  have  well  ventilated  stall, 
with  no  draught  on  him  ;  keep  bowels  open  by  injections ; 
give  plenty  water,  but  be  sure  to  take  the  chill  air  off  it  by 
putting  a  few  quarts  of  warm  water  into  the  bucket  of  cold 
water,  with  a  little  of  nitrate  of  potash,  as  directed  in  pneu- 
monia. Nurse  the  horse  with  anything  he  will  eat — an 
apple,  carrot,  a  handful  of  wet  hay,  a  little  warm  grass  or 
anything  he  will  eat  of  an  alterative  nature.  Be  sure  for 
lour  or  five  days  to  let  him  have  all  the  quiet  and  rest  pos- 
sible, after  which  all  will  be  well.  Do  not  put  him  to 
hard  labor  of  any  kind  too  soon  for  fear  of  a  relapse  brought 
on  by  enervation  or  weakness. 

Worms. — Since  there  are  thousands  of  good  horses 
whose  health  becomes  impaired  when  worms  accumulate 
in  large  number  in  their  systems,  one  cannot  be  too  careful 
in  his  examination  of  the  causes  why  his  horse  does  not  look 
or  do  well.  He  gives  the  animal  plenty  of  good,  nutritious 
food  and  he  eats,  but  the  hair  stares,  his  foeces  becomes  dry, 
belly  tucks  up,  and  he  neither  gains  flesh  or  otherwise  does 
well.  These  symptoms  generally  indicate  worms,  which  live 
in  the  horse  by  sucking  up  the  nutrition  of  his  food,  inter- 
fering with  and  sometimes  demoralizing  the  gastric  juices, 
also  greatly  depleting  the  sugary  quality  of  the  bile  (called 
kime).  When  this  takes  place  necessarily  bad  digestion 
must  follow,  then  weakness,  a  rough  coat  and  bad  general 
health.  Unless  timely  vermifuges  are  given,  with  other 
purgative  medicine,  of  which  I  give  a  list  that  are  almost  in- 
fallible for  eradicating  worms  and  producing  a  reaction  for 


173 

the  betterment  of   the  horse's  condition,  I  recommend  the 
following 

Treatment — Which  I  have  used  for  many  years  with 
great  satisfaction:  Mash  the  horse  with  well-scalded  bran 
mashes  for  two  feeds;  then  at  nighttime  give  him  one  powder 
for  three  successive  nights  made  into  the  following  combi- 
nation, but  divided  into  three  equal  parts  (one  to  be  given 
each  night):  3  drachms  of  English  calomel  and  one  drachm 
tartar  emetic.  This  is  to  be  followed  in  twenty-four  hours 
by  a  good  purging  ball  made  of  five  drachms  Barbados 
aloes,  two  drachms  of  ginger,  one  drachm  of  rhubarb,  mixed 
with  molasses  and  flax  seed,  meal  or  flour.  After  the  medi- 
cine begins  to  work  let  the  horse  remain  quiet  in  a  comfort- 
able stall,  and  examine  the  foeces  to  see  if  the  worms  are  be- 
ing carried  off.  Then  after  eight  or  ten  stools  have  passed 
off  small  quantities  of  food  may  be  given,  together  with 
reasonable  quantities  of  tepid  water.  This  treatment  never 
fails  to  get  rid  of  worms  and  improve  the  general  health  of 
the  horse.  I  have  practiced  it  for  more  than  forty  years. 
(The  Old  Veteran  Himself.) 

To  Blister  a  Curb. — Put  one  hundred  grains  of  finely 
powdered  corrosive  sublimate  in  a  one-half  ounce  bottle  of 
alcohol  and  let  it  remains  till  it  dissolves.  Shave  the  hair 
off  close  and  apply  with  a  cork  for  ten  or  twelve  minutes. 
If  it  does  not  take  effect  in  an  hour,  repeat  the  application. 

Thrush. — This  is  a  disease  peculiar  to  all  the  lower 
animals  under  certain  conditions.  Horses,  oxen  and  sheep 
are  especially  liable  to  become  affected  with  it.  It  is  gen- 
erally produced  by  permitting  stock  to  remain  in  buildings 
that  are  unclean,  such  as  allowing  horses  to  stand  too  long 
in  their  own  stools  and  urine.  When  this  is  the  case,  unless 
their  feet  are  being  picked  out,  washed  or  otherwise  cleansed 
daily,  thrush  invariably  sets  in.  If  allowed  to  run  any 
length  of  time,  it  will  eat  up  the  internal  structure  of  the 
foot,  and  cause  not  only  disunion  to  take  place,  but  the  loss 
of  the  hoof  sometimes  results. 

In  order  TO  prevent  thrush  keep  your  stables  clean, 
have  your  horses'  hoofs  picked  out  or  washed  at  least  twice 
a  week  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  filth,  keep  your 
horses'  feet  clean.     This  same  order  applies  to  oxen  and 


174 

sheep.  Clean  the  feet  of  the  latter  animals  at  least  once 
every  ninety  days,  and  dress  the  feet  with  a  coat  of  blue- 
stone  well  pulverized  and  mixed  with  sufficient  honey  to 
make  a  salve.  After  the  feet  have  been  thoroughly  cleansed 
apply  the  salve  with  a  brush.  This  treatment  will  secure 
good,  sound  frogs  and  healthy,  natural  feet. 

It  is  very  essential  that  the  horse's  feet  be  kept  in  good 
condition,  and  to  bring  this  about  the  utmost  care  should  be 
used  in  looking  after  them 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 
The  Track  Records* 

The  whole  thought  of  the  turfmen  of  to-day  inclines 
toward  speed  and  there  is  nothing  they  have  not  done  to 
assist  in  this  development.  Comparisons,  therefore,  of  the 
time  in  races  made  in  the  years  ago  and  that  at  present 
clipped  off  are  merely  interesting  without  being  conclusive 
of  anything.  Time  is  relative  and  so  always  has  been  con- 
sidered by  turfmen,  whether  racing  is  to  them  a  matter  of 
speculation  or  a  medium  of  recreation. 

Atmosphere,  environment,  condition  of  course,  charac- 
ter of  pace,  judgment  of  jockey — all  these  and  a  dozen  more 
contingencies  enter  into  the  making  up  of  time.  To-day 
it  is  a  selling  plater  that  makes  a  record  and  to-morrow  for 
that  same  plater  to  be  beaten  thoroughly  in  much  slower 
time  by  a  horse  of  quality  who  always  could  and  always 
would  beat  him,  and  yet  who  never  had  a  record  emblazoned 
on  his  career.  Discussions  of  records,  therefore,  from  a 
time  standpoint,  are  profitless  and,  in  many  instances,  mis- 
leading. I  do  not  mean  to  dim  by  any  word  of  mine  any 
laurel  now  worn  by  the  glorious  living  or  by  the  valiant 
dead.  Time  is  interesting  and,  at  periods,  informatory,  but  it 
never  can,  other  than  by  accident,  be  conclusive  as  to  merit. 
The  Great  Futurity,  inaugurated  in  1888  by  the  Coney 
Island  Jockey  Club,  run  in  the  fall,  six  furlongs,  by  two- 
year-olds,  annually,  is  one  of  the  richest  of  all  of  the  Ameri- 
can classics,  and  has  been  won  by  the  horses  year  after  year, 
as  herein  mentioned,  since  it  was  inaugurated : 
1888. — Proctor  Knott,   122  lbs.  (Barnes),   ist;  Salvator,  108 

lbs.;    Galen,   115    lbs.;    time,   1.15^;    value,  $45,000;    14 

starters. 
1889.— W.  L.  Scott's  Chaos,  109  lbs.  (Day);  St.  Carlo,  122 

lbs.;  Sinaloa  II,  105  lbs.;  time,  i:i6f ;  value,  $63,675  ;  23 

starters. 
1890. — August    Belmont's   Potomac,    115    lbs.   (Hamilton); 

Masher,    108   lbs.;    Strathmeath,    124   lbs.;   time,   1:14^; 

value,  $77,000 ;  1 5  starters. 


176 

1891. — D.  Gideon's  His  Highness,  130  lbs.  (J.  McLaughlin); 
Yorkville  Belle,  115  lbs.;  Dagonet,  108  lbs.;  time,  1:153^; 
value,  $72,000;  21  starters. 

1892. — A.  F.  Van  Ness's  Morelo,  118  lbs.  (Haywood);  Lady- 
Violet,  118  lbs.;  St.  Lenards,  115  lbs.;  time,  1:12^;  value, 
$41,375  ;  17  starters. 

1893. — J.  R.  &  F.  P.  Keene's  Domino,  130  lbs.  (Taral);  Gali- 
lee, 115  lbs.;  Dobbins,  130  lbs.;  time,  i:i2f ;  value,  $45,- 
000 ;  20  starters. 

1894. — Gideon  &  Daly's  Butterflies,  112  lbs.  (Griffin);  Brandy- 
wine,  108  lbs.;  Agitator,  no  lbs.;  time,  i:ii;  value,  $63, 
830;  17  starters. 

1895. — Gideon  &  Daly's  Requital,  115  lbs.  (Griffin);  Cre- 
sendo,  114  lbs.;  Silver  H,  108  lbs.;  time,  1:1  if ;  value, 
$69,770 ;  20  starters. 

1896. — Marcus  Daly's  Ogden,  115  lbs.  (Tuberville);  Orna- 
ment, 116  lbs.;  Rodermond,  115  lbs.;  time,  1:10;  value, 
$56,970;  10  starters. 

1897. — L.  S.  &  W.  P.  Thompson's  L'Alouette,  115  lbs. 
(Clawson);  Lidian,  115  lbs.;  Uriel,  115  lbs.;  time,  i:ii; 
value,  $43,300 ;   18  starters. 

1898.— W.  Heulin's  Martimas,  118  lbs.  (H.  Lewis);  High 
Degree,  113  lbs.;  Mr.  Clay,  118  lbs.;  time,  i:i2|;  value, 
$46,840;  23  starters. 

1899. — James  R.  Keene's  Charconac,  114  lbs.  (Spencer); 
Brigadier,  109  lbs.;  Windmere,  112  lbs,;  time,  i:iof ; 
value,  $41,000;  20  starters. 

1900. — W.  C.  Whitney's  Ballyhoo  Bey,  112  lbs.  (T.  Sloan); 
Olympian,  112  lbs.;  Tommy  Atkins,  129  lbs.;  time,  1:10; 
value,  $42,000;   12  starters. 

1901. — John  E.  Madden's  Yankee,  119  lbs.  (O'Connor);  Lux 
Caster,  109  lbs.;  Barron,  112  lbs.;  time,  1:093-;  value, 
$46,210;  19  starters. 

1902. — John  A.  Drake's  Savable,  119  lbs.  (Lyne);  Lord  of 
the  Vale,  117  lbs.;  Dazeling,  116  lbs.;  time,  1:14;  value, 
$56,660 ;  24  starters. 


177 

1903. — Sydney  Paget's  Hamburg  Belle,  114  lbs.  (Fuller); 
Leonidis,  123  lbs.;  The  Minute  Man,  122  lbs.;  time,  1:13; 
value,  $46,550;  18  starters. 

1904. — H.  B.  Duryea's  Artful,  114  lbs.  (Hildebrand);  Tradi- 
tion, 127  lbs.;  Sysonby,  127  lbs.;  time,  i:iif ;  value,  $52,- 
990;  16  starters. 

1905. — Ormondale  Stable's  Ormondale,  117  lbs.  (Redfern); 
Timber,  119  lbs.;  Belmere,  117  lbs.;  time,  1:1  if ;  value, 
$43,680;  17  starters. 

1906. — Wm.  Lakeland  &  B.  G.  Thomas's  Electioneer,  117 
lbs.,  by  Voter  —  Quesal  (L.  Williams);  Tourenne, 
Aleatheaw  ;  time,  1:1 3f. 

Note. — The  distance  in  1892,  1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 
1898,  1899,  1900,  1 90 1  was  170  feet  less  than  six  furlongs; 
other  years  the  distance  was  full  six  furlongs. 

The  Flying  Handicap. — Inaugurated  in  1893.  For 
three-year-olds ;  six  furlongs: 

1893. — Gideon  &  Daly's  Cactus,  115  lbs.  (Overton);  time, 
i:iif. 

1894. — J.  R.  Keene's  Domino,  130  lbs.  (Taral);  time,  1:10. 

1895. — San  Anita  Stable's  Rey  del  Carreres,  122  lbs.  (Taral); 
time,  i:ii|. 

1896. — Wm.  Wallace's  Refuge,  100  lbs.  (Tod  Sloan);  time, 
1:16. 

1897. — A.  H.  &  D.  H.  Morris's  Casseopia,  108  lbs.  (F.  Little- 
field);  time,  1:153^. 

1898. — W.B.Jennings's  Bendoran,  112  lbs.  (Maher);  time, 
i:i4f. 

1899. — Sydney  Paget's  Toluca,  108  lbs.  (Clawson);  time,  1:14. 

1900. — Sam  Hildreth's  Vulcain,  124  lbs.  (Henry);  time,  i:i3f . 

1901.— Goughacre  Stable's  Dublin,  118  lbs.  (McCue);  i:i2f. 

1902. — A.  Featherston's  Hatasoo,  122  lbs.  (Shaw);  time,  1:13. 

1903. — W.  B.Jennings's  Shot  Gun,  119  lbs.  (Odom);  time, 
i:i4f. 

1904. — S.  S.  Brown's  Broomstick,  12^  lbs,;  time,  i:i3|. 


1905. — James  McLaughlin's  Oxford,  109  lbs.;  time,  1:15^. 

1906. — Newcastle  Stable's  b.  c.  Inquisitor,  120  lbs.  (Miller); 
Frank  J.  Farrell's  ch.  c.  Arklita,  123  lbs.;  T.  L,  Watt's 
b.  f.  Consistent,  97  lbs. 

Note. — Prior  to  1896  races  were  run  over  the  old 
Futurity  Course,  170  feet  less  than  six  furlongs. 

The  Great  Autumn  Steeplechase. — For  four-year- 
olds  and  upwards ;  about  two  miles  and  a  half.  Inaugur- 
ated, 1906. 

1906. — Brownleigh  Park  Stable's  b.  g.  John  M.  P.  (aged), 
162  lbs.,  first;  Bartlet  McLennan's  b.  g.  Agent  (4  years), 
second ;  Bonny  Brook  Stable's  ch.  g.  Alfar  (4  years), 
third  ;  time,  5:05. 

The  Sapphire  Stakes. — For  two-year-olds  that  have 
not  won  a  race  of  the  value  of  $1,000  up  to  the  time  of  clos 
ing;  five  and  one-half  furlongs.     Futurity  Course. 

1887. — V.  F.  Mattese  Stable's  Geraldine,  116  lbs.  (Kelly); 
time,  1:15. 

1888. — D.  D.  Withers's  Sluggard,  108  lbs.  (George  Taylor); 

time,  i:r4f. 
1889. — August    Belmont's    Magnet,    118    lbs.    (Anderson); 

time,  1:19^. 
1890. — Bashford  Manor  Farm's  Gascoin,  in  lbs.  (Overton); 

time,  1:10. 

1891. — G.  E.  Smith's  King  Cadmus,  in  lbs.  (Taral);  time, 
i:09f. 

1892. — Blemton  Stable's  Belgarde,  108  lbs.  (Syms);  time, 
1:09. 

1893. — J.  Ruppert,  Jr.'s,  Longsdale,  118  lbs.  (Lamle);  time, 
i:o8f. 

1894. — P.  Lorillard's  Dolabra,  118  lbs.  (Hamilton);  time, 
i:oyf. 

1895.— L.  E.  Zell's  Kamsin,  115  lbs.  (Grififin);  time,  i:o8f. 

1896.— A.  H.  &  D.  H.  Morris's  The  Friar,  125  lbs.  (F.  Lit- 
tlefield);  time,  i:o7|. 


179 

1 897- — L.  S,  &  W.  P.  Thompson's  The  Huguenot,  ii8  lbs. 
(W.  Martin);  time,  i:o8. 

1898. — Mrs.  B.  McClellan's  Ways  and  Means,  125  lbs. 
(Maher);  time,  1:10. 

1899. — J.  E.  Madden's  Gulden,  118  lbs.  (Odom);  time,  i:o8f. 

1900. — J.  R.  &  F.  P.  Keene's  Conroy,  109  lbs.  (Spencer); 
time,  i:o6|. 

1901. — W.  C.  Whitney's  Pretorious,  108  lbs.  (Burns);  time, 
1:08. 

1902. — J.   R.   Keene's  Clarion,  108  lbs.  (O'Connor);    time, 

i:o6|. 
1903. — A.  L.  Aste's  Luxemburg-,  108  lbs.  (Gray);  time,  1:07. 
1904. — S.  S.  Brown's  Agile,  118  lbs.  (Burns);  time,  1:06^. 

1905. — C.  R.  Ellison's  Lady  Navarre,  115  lbs.  (Burns);  time, 
1:09. 

1906. — E.  S.  Burke,  Jr.'s,  b.  c.  W.  H.  Daniell,  first,  125  lbs. 
(Jones),  time  i:o6|;  Paumonok,  second;  J.  E.  Segram's 
ch.  c.  Main  Chance,  third. 

Note.  —  Prior  to  1889  the  distance  was  six  furlongs. 

The  Ocean  Handicap. — Coney  Island;  $2,500  added. 
Previous  winners  : 

1894. — J.  R.  &  F.  P.  Keene's  Domino  (3),  116  lbs.  (Taral); 
time,  1:40^^. 

1895. — Pastime  Stable's  Henry  Young  (5),  107  lbs.  (A.  Clay- 
ton); time,  i:39f 

1896.— J.  M.  Murphy's  Buck  Massie  (4),  119  lbs.  (J.  Hill); 
time,  1:41. 

1897.— G.  E.  Smith's  Belmar  (5),  121  lbs.  (T.  Sloan);  time, 
1:41. 

1898. — W.  B.  Jenning's  Briar  Sweet  (3),  no  lbs.  (Maher); 
time,  i:40|. 

1899. — Harness  &  Brosman's  Imp  (5),  123  lbs.  (P.  Clay); 
time,  1:40^. 

1900. — James  R.  Keene's  Voter  (6),  130  lbs.  (Spencer); 
time,  i:39f. 


i8o 

1901. — J.  E.  Widencr's  Ten  Candles  (4),  122  lbs.  (Spencer); 
time,  1:381. 

1902.— J.  E.  Madden's  Col.  Bill  (3),  105  lbs.  (H.  Michaels); 
time,  i:39|. 

1903. — E.  R.  Thomas's  Hermis  (4),  127  lbs.  (Odom);  time, 

i:39f 
1904. — W.  B.  Jennings's  Dainty  (4),  no  lbs.  (Hildebrand); 

time,  1:39. 

1905. — W.  B.  Jennings's  Prosper  (3),  122  lbs.  (Knapp);  time, 
i:4if 

1906 — A.   Belmont's  Tiptoe   (3),    107   lbs.   (Horner);    time, 

i:38f. 

The  Brooklyn  Handicap  is  one  of  the  annuals  that 
is  always  looked  forward  to  with  great  interest  by  all 
classes,  as  the  best  horses,  from  three-year-olds  up  to  all 
ages,  are  invariably  entered  in  this  race,  it  being  one  of 
the  American  Classics,  the  distance  being  i^m. 

1887. — Dry  Monopole  (imp.  Glenelg),  Blue  Wing,  Hidalgo; 

time,  2:07  ;  value,  $5,850;   17  starters. 
1888. — The  Bard  (Longfellow),  Hanover,  Exile;  time,  2:13; 

value,  $6,925  ;  17  starters. 

1889. — Exile  (imp.  Mortemer),  Prince  Royal,  Terra  Cotta; 
time,  2:07^;  value,  $6,900;  7  starters. 

1890. — Castaway    II    (Outcast),  Badger,   Erie;    time,  2:10; 
value,  $6,900 ;   9  starters. 

1 89 1. — Tenny  (imp.  Rayon  d'Or),  Prince  Royal,  Tea  Tray  ; 
time,  2:10;  value,  $14,800;  21  starters. 

1892. — Judge   Morrow  (Vagabond),  Pessara,  Russell ;  time, 
2:o8| ;  value,  $17,750;  12  starters. 

1893. — Diabalo  (Eolus),  Lamplighter,  Lonawell ;  time,  2:09; 
value,  $17,500;  13  starters. 

1894. — Dr.  Rice  (Onondaga),  Henry  of  Navarre,  Sir  Walter; 
time,  2:07^;  value,  $17,750;  14  starters. 

1895. — Hornpipe  (imp.  Mr.  Pickwick),  Lazzarone,  Sir  Wal- 
ter; time,  2:1  ij;  value,  $7,750 ;  12  starters. 


iSi 

1896.— Sir  Walter  (imp.   Midlothian),  Clifford,  St.  Maxim; 
time,  2:08^ ;  value,  $7,750  ;  8  starters. 

1897. — Howard    Mann   (Duke    of   Montrose),   Lake   Shore, 
Volley  ;  time,  2:09!  ;  value,  $7,750  ;  11  starters. 

1898. — Ornament   (imp.    Order),  Ben    Holloday,  Sly  Fox  ; 
time,  2:10  ;  value,  $7,800  ;  8  starters. 

1899. — Banastar   (Farandole),  Lanky  Bob,  Filigrane  ;   time, 
2:o6|;  value,  $7,800;  16  starters. 

1900. — Kinley    Mack   (imp.    Isinglass),    Rafaello,   Herbert; 
time,  2:10;  value,  $7,800;  9  starters. 

1901. — Conroy  (St. Leonardo),  Herbert,  Standing;  time,  2:09  ; 
value,  $7,800  ;  9  starters. 

1902. — Reina  (imp.  Esher),  Advance  Guard,  Pentecost;  time, 
2:07  ;  value,  $7,800  ;   14  starters. 

1903. — Irish   Lad   (imp.    Candlemas),  Gunfire,  Heno ;  time, 
2:o5f  ;  value,  $14,950;  12  starters. 

1904. — The  Picket  (Falsetto),  Irish  Lad,  Proper ;  time,  2:o6f  ; 
value,  $15,800  ;  16  starters. 

1905. — Delhi  (Ben  Brush),  Ostrich,  Graziallo  ;  time,  2:o6|; 
value,  $15,800;  II  starters. 

1906. — Tokalon   (Tammany),  Dandelion,   The  Picket;  time, 
2:051 ;  value,  $15,800  ;  14  starters. 


FASTEST  TIME  ON  RECORD  IN  U.  S. 

J;^  mile       Bob  Wade,  4,  Butte  (Mont.),  Aug.  20.   1890 o:2i}4 

%    "  Atoka,  a,  115,  Butte  (Mont.),  Aug.  23,   1906 0:32% 

3%  fur.         Judge  Thomas,  a,  134,  Butte  (Mont.),  July  14,  1902 0:401^ 

V  mile    ^  Geraldine,  4,  i  22 ,  Morris  P'k  (str'ht  co'se),  Aug.  30,  1889  0:46 

^2  \  Bessie  Macklin,  2,  100,  Dallas  (Tex.),  Oct,  3,  1899 0:463^ 

.1/  r  j  Tanya,  2,  107,  Morris  Park  (str'ht  co'se).  May  12,  1904.  0:5 lU 

4/2    "r-      ;|  Old  England,  2,  loS,  Cal.  J.  C.  (Oakland),  Dec.  i8,  1901  0:53 

5/  jnjig    j  Maid  Marian,  4,  hi,  Mor.  P'k  (str'ht  co'se),  Oct.  9,  1894  0:56^:^ 
''*              i  George  F.  Smith,  4,  100,  San  Francisco    (Cal.  J.  C), 

March   7,  1895 0:59 

-1/  f^jj.       j  Plater,  2,  107,  Morris  Park  (str'ht  co'se),  Oct.   21,   1902  i:02j^ 

^^2        •      I  McGee,  3,  105,    Chicago  (Harlem),  Oct.  i,  1903 1:05  1-5 

Futurity  Course  (170  feet  less  than  %  mile). 

Kingston,  a,  139,  Sh'sh'd  Bay  (C.  I.  J.  C),  June  22,  1891  1:08 

6  fur       \  Artful,  2,  130,  Morris  Park  (str'ht  co'se),  Oct.  15,   1904  1:08 

I  RosEBEN,  4,  147,    Belmont  Park  (L.  I.),  Oct.  6,  1905 1:11 

(  Lady  Vera,  2,  90,  Belmont  Park  (L.    I.),    (str'ht   co'se), 

6J-^  fur.      -j      Oct.  19,  1906 1:16  3-5 

(  Oxford,  4,  118,  Belmont  Park  (L.  I.),  Oct.   15,   1906 1:18  i  5 

7  fur.         RosEBEN,  5,  126,  Belmont  Park  (L.  I.),  Oct.   16,   1906...  1:22 
•j%i\xr.         Dainty,  4,  109,  San  Francisco  (Oakland),   Dec.  ig,  1904.  1:32 

fSALVATOR,   4,    no,     Monmouth     Park,    Aug.    28,    1890 

I      (against  time,  straight  course) 1:35^2 

I       mile    -J  KiLDEER,  4,  91,  Monm'th  P'k,  Aug.  13,  1902  (str'ht  co'se)     1:37^4 
I  KiAMESHA,  3,  104,  Belmont  Park  (L.  I.),  Oct.  9,  1905.. .     1:37  2  5 

(_  Dick  Welles,  3,  112,  Chicago  (Harlem),  Aug.   14,   1903.     

f  Macy,  4,  107,  Chicago  (Wash'ton  P'k),  July  2,   1898 

I  m    20  vds  \  Maid  Marian,  4,    106,    Chicago   (Washington   Park), 

y     •]      July,  19,   1893 1:40 

[  Six  Shooter,  5,  in,  Chi.  (W'h'ton  P'k),  June27, 1903     

I  m.  50  yds.     Haviland,  6,  99,  Chicago  (W'h'ton  P'k),  July  7,   1903     1:41   1-5 

I  m    70  vds  \  J™iNEZ,  3,  loi,  Chicago  (Harlem),  Sept.   5,  1901 1:42 

'  '    ■>     ■[  Dalvay,  3,  96,  Chicago  (Harlem),  Aug.  31,  1904. 

I  m.  100  yds.  Grand  Opera,  4,  77,  Chicago  (Harlem),  Aug.  12,  1903.     1:44  3-5 

I  1-16  m     \  I^i^A^LiTE,  4,  loi,  Brighton  Beach,  Sept  25,   1905 1:44  3-5 

■    /  Glassful,  3,  loi,  Chicago  (Wash'ton  P'k),  July  2,  1903 

il^  m.  BoNNiBERT,  4,  120,  Brighton  Beach,  July  30,  1902 1:51 

I  3-16  m.      Scintillant  II,  6,  109,  Chicago  (Harlem),  Sept.  i,   1902     1:57  2-5 
iV  m         j  Banquet,  3,  108,  Monm'th  P'k  (str'ht  co'se),  July  17,  1890     2:0334; 

^      ■        \  Broomstick,  3,  104,  Brighton  Beach,  July  9,   1904 2:02  4-5 

I  5-16  m.       Bedouin,  3,  in,  Belmont  Park  (L.  I.),  Oct.  2,  1905 2:10  3-5 

I  m.  500  yds.  Swift  Wing,  5,   100,  Latonia   (Ky.),  July  8,   1905 2:10  1-5 

1%   miles     Irish  Lad,  4,  126,  Sheepsh'd  Bay  (C.  L),  June  25,  1904    2:17  3-5 
i}/^       "        Goodrich,  3,  102,  Chicago  (Wash'ton  P'k),  July  16,  1898     2:303^ 
1%       "        Africander,  3,  126,  Sheepshead  Bay  (C.  L),  July  7,  1903     2:45  1-5 
1%       "         Major  Dangerfield,  4,  120,  Morris  Park,  Oct.  3,  1903     2:57 
^K       "        Julius  Caesar,  5,  108,  New  Orleans  (La.),  Feb.  27,1900     3:19 

.1      5  Judge  Denny,  5,  105,  Cal.  J.  C,  Feb.  12,  1898 3:263^ 

(  Ten  Broeck,  5,  no,  Louisville,  May  29,  1877  (ag'st  time)     3:27^^ 


i83 


2^8  miles 

2K 

2% 
2% 

3 


Joe  Murphy,  4,  99,  Chicago  (Harlem),  Aug.  30,  1894. _  3:42 

Ethelbert,  4,  124,  Brighton  Beach,  Aug.  4,  igoo 3:49  1-5 

Kyrat,  3,  88,  Newport  (Ky.),  Nov.  18,  1899..- 4:241^ 

Ten  Broeck,  4,  104,  Lexington,  Sept.   16,   1876 4'-S^}4 

Hubbard,  4,  107,  Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  9,  1873. 4:58% 

Elie,  4,  99,  Cal.  J.  C.  (Oakland),  April  8,   1905 5:22 

Lucrezia  Borgia,  4,  85,    Cal.  J.  C.  (Oakland),   May  20, 

1897   (against  time) - 7:11 

The  Bachelor,  a,  118,  Cal.  J.  C.  (Oakland),  Feb.  22, 1899  7:16)^ 


l^  mile 
34    " 


5Z 


HEAT    RACES. 

Sleepy  Dick,  a,  Kiowa  (Kan.),  Oct.  19,  1888 o 

Bob  Wade,  4,  Butte  (Mont.),  Aug.  16,  1890 o 

i  Eclipse,  Jr.,  4,  Dallas  (Tex.),  Nov.  i,  1890 0:48— 
Bogus,  a,  113,  Helena  (Mont.),  Aug.   22,   i8S8_.. 
Bill   Howard,    5,    122,    Anaconda   (Mont.),    Aug. 
1895 ..-..-... - o 

j  Kittie  Pease,  4,  82,  Dallas  (Tex.),  Nov.  2,  1887 

I  Fox,  4,  113,  San  Francisco  (Cal.),  Oct.  31,  1891-1:00 
fTOM     Hayes,     4,     107,     Morris   Park,    June   17,    i 

%    "       ■{      (straight  course) i 

|_ Lizzies.,  5,  118,  Louisville,  Sept.  28,  1883 i 

I  "         GuiDO,  4,  117,  Chicago  (W'h'ton  P'k),  July  II,  189I--I 

I     (3  in  5)    L'Argentine,  5,  115,  St.  Louis,  June  14,  1879.. 1:43— 

1  1-16  m.      Slipalong,  5,  115,  Chicago  (Washington  Park),   Sept 

1885 ...I 

ii^  m.  What-er-Lou,  5,  119,  San  Francisco  (Ingleside),  Feb. 

1899 - 

ij^  m.  Glenmore,  5,  114,  Sheepshead  Bay,  Sept.  25  1880.. 

1%  m.  Patsy   Duffy,   a,    115,     Sacramento  (Cal.),    Sept. 

1884 - 2 

2  m.  Miss  Woodford,   4,  1073^,  Sheepshead  Bay,  Sept. 

18S4 

3  m.  Norfolk,  4,  100,  Sac'ra'to  (Cal.),  Sept.   23,  1865.  5 


213^ — 0:22^^ 
:36M-o:36i4 
-0:48 — 0:48 
.0:48 — 0:48 

17, 

473^—0:48?^ 
-i:oc — 1:00 

3-5—1:01  1-5 
892 

:io3^— i:i23^ 
:i3ii— 1:13^ 
:4iK— 1:41 
-1:44—1:47^ 
.  2, 

:5iK-i:48K 
,  18, 

.1:56—1:543^ 
-2:10 — 2:14 

17, 

:4i3^— 2:41 

20, 

-3:33— 3 =3 1 '-I 

:27K-5:29^ 


MsMbt  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medtcine 

tteitsRiss'^  School  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 

Tufts  University 

too  Westboro  Road